Become Legend: Volume One
by ShadowKitty252
Summary: Saga 1. The story of a Guardian as she awakens in a strange, ruined world. Discovering the fate of humanity and their god she joins the Vanguard of the Last City to defeat the vicious forces that want to ensure humanity's extinction. Guided by a mysterious stranger, she uncovers a plot from an equally mysterious race of machines to alter the fabric of reality itself. Rated T.
1. 1-1) Eyes Up, Guardian

**A/N:** Welcome to my new series. A full novelization of the Destiny series. This will be one continuous project. So when I get round to the expansions they'll just be in one fanfic, not split into separate parts.

To my followers awaiting KHIV: Blinding Light, it _is_ coming.

To those of you reading this. Enjoy

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 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _**Destiny**_ is owned by Bungie and Activision. I only own OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 01:** Devils and Kings

 **Chapter 001:** Eyes Up, Guardian

 _We met it on Mars. In an age of great conflict, a deep space satellite discovered something...new. Unsure of this new presence on the red planet, old governments joined forces and sent a spacecraft up into the unknown._

 _And what they saw shocked us all._

 _The sphere was producing the first rains Mars had seen in hundreds of millions of years, terraforming the red planet. As the world watched the live feed of this strange machine in awe we waited and wondered._

 _We called it 'the Traveller'. It taught us many things. New sciences, new ideas, new philosophies. It ushered humanity into a new Golden Age, a Golden Age of Miracles. Scholars studied in the jungles of Venus, while technology had moved to Mars. Mercury became a garden world and our own Moon became a port for our new empire throughout the Solar System. Human lifespan tripled. And when the Traveller saw that it was good, it left without a word. We were ready. Ready to take our place in the Universe._

 _And then it came. Howling from the farthest reaches of the dark abyss beyond our empire._

 _The Traveller had an enemy. One as ancient and as powerful as our guiding light that had hunted the Traveller for eons: a force known only as the Darkness. Without warning the Darkness tore through our new empire, laying waste to the colonies in the Jovian moons, obliterating Freehold and razing the universities of the Ishtar Sink. It rampaged through our homeworld, undoing centuries worth of progress in a matter of hours. And when it looked like all was lost, the Traveller returned. It gave its life to push back the Darkness and save us._

 _The Darkness was pushed back, but not defeated. It lingered in the edges of our former empire, beyond the Reef, weakened but not destroyed. With its last breath the Traveller created the Ghosts to hunt down anyone that could harness the Traveller's Light: the Guardians of humanity were born. And now the Traveller, our once mighty saviour, lays dormant above Earth. We built a city around the Traveller, a last bastion of hope against the horrors of the Darkness._

 _And we wait._

 _The next three centuries saw the rise and fall of a thousand kings. All the while the Guardians grew and grew in number, defending the Light wherever they could._

 _The Traveller had saved humanity three hundred years ago. Now it is down to us to return the favour._

 _ **Old Russia, Cosmodrome**_

It was quiet along the rusted wastes of the Old Russian cosmodrome. All that could be heard was the quiet lapping of the waves along the shore and the faint cries of birds. It was a new day for the House of Devils and one spent doing what they do best: scavenging. While the Dregs of the House picked clean several cars that had been long abandoned, the overseeing Captain, Rahn, gazed out at the rising sun. It had been centuries since the Whirlwind tore through their homeworld. It was well known that the current Fallen had never seen the sunrise of their home: it was a story that gave hope to the Dregs and Vandals and dream that the Captains and Archons doubted would happen.

But maybe their luck was about to change. Centuries of space travel across the galaxy in search of the Great Machine had led them to a small blue world locally known as Earth. Among the many species on this strange planet was a weird, bipedal, warm-blooded species that referred to themselves as 'humans'.

They too had suffered the affects of the Whirlwind. But something else had happened. One that enraged the Fallen greatly. Hovering above a giant, towering metropolis was the Great Machine. It had intervened and saved these funny-looking humans, something it had not done for the Fallen. Now the Fallen had invaded the Sol System, taking up outposts on the planets still beyond the Whirlwind's reach. The House of Devils and the House of Kings lay claim to Earth and were now preparing to assault those bastard humans and their City.

As Rahn looked out over the wastes, still wondering why the Great Machine had saved these creatures, he spied a small white machine scanning the cars. He didn't know what the machine was called, but he knew what normally followed. Rahn gave mighty roar to his troops, pointing at the small white machine. He growled an order, causing the Dregs to cheer in pride as they moved out to find the machine.

The machine, Ghost, was searching for a small speck of light. _Any_ light. Ghost, like all of his kind, were created by the Traveller with its dying breath. However, unlike the others, Ghost had spent seven hundred long years searching for his Guardian, scanning every possible ruin for them. His search for Light had brought him to the old Cosmodrome, deep in the heart of Fallen territory and very dangerous due to the two Houses that had claimed it. Even if he could avoid the Devils, the Kings were entirely different matter.

As Ghost scanned the old car wrecks he found something, hidden in one of mangles of the wrecks. On old skeleton, female, but with...

"Is it possible...?" he asked himself with a glimmer of joy. Ghost opened his shell, giving out a deeper scan. "There you are."

Ghost bathed the old corpse in Light, bringing back her spirit. As the Light circled around, reconstructing her body, Ghost watched in excitement. The woman, a human Warlock, landed on the ground, stumbling on her feet like an child taking its first steps. She held her head in her hand, her messy jet black hair glinting in the sun.

"What...?" she asked slowly, blinking in the dawning sun.

"Guardian?" Ghost asked. "Guardian? Eyes up, Guardian."

The woman looked at Ghost, jumping back in surprise.

"It worked. You're alive!" Ghost cried, pleased with himself. "What's your name?"

"Kayla," the woman replied, looking at Ghost closely, inspecting him. "I didn't know the Russians had made little...things. What are you? A tour guide? So, where's the...oh, my..."

Kayla looked up at the giant rusted walls, looking around at the mangled wrecks surrounding her. She gasped, putting her hand to her mouth. "W-what happened? I...I don't...where's my family? We were...we were going to Venus and...and...I...I...oh, god those _things_...those zombie _things_ they...they did this, where are...where am I...I...I can't...can't remember..."

Ghost watched his new partner look around the wrecks for her family. He watched, confused. Guardians were created from the dead, so he knew they would have some leftover memories of their former lives, but he had never heard of one so severe. As Kayla searched the wrecks for answers it hit him.

Kayla was a human alive _before_ the collapse. And, judging from the flashbacks she was experiencing, she died the day the Darkness attacked humanity. She didn't know of any of the seven centuries that followed. Of the horror that followed.

Ghost floated to the panicking woman as she scoured the wrecks.

"Kayla...that's a nice name," he said. "I know this a lot to take in...just...breathe slowly."

Kayla looked at Ghost, slowing her breathing. When she was calm she took a deep breath. "What are you? What...what _happened_?"

"I'm a Ghost," Ghost replied. "Well...actually, now I'm _your_ Ghost. And you...you've been dead a long time." Kayla's eyes widened in shock, her mouth open to say something, only nothing came out. Ghost quickly floated to her face. "So you're going to see a lot of things you're not going to understand. I can't answer all your questions, and now is not the time to do it. I can find people that can answer your questions when we get to the City, but for now I just need you to do as I say. Can you please do that for me?"

Kayla looked at Ghost, stunned. Ghost paused. "I am _so_ sorry for speaking like that, it's just-"

"What do you me to do?" Kayla asked.

Suddenly a shriek pierced the air, making Kayla jump.

"This is Fallen territory," Ghost warned, looking around. "I have to get you to the City, hold still."

Kayla watched as Ghost changed into a small white light and disappeared inside Kayla's body. Kayla looked around. "Are you...?"

"Don't worry, I'm still with you. We need to move. _Fast_."

The Fallen roared once more prompting Kayla to make a mad dash towards the wall of the Cosmodrome.

"Please tell me you know what you're doing?" Kayla asked Ghost.

"Oh, yes," Ghost replied.

"Are you lying?"

"Oh, yes."

"Wonderful."

Kayla rounded the old rusted door, slamming it shut. She grabbed an old metal bar and jammed it under the handle. Not wasting time to see if these 'Fallen' were able to get through the door, Kayla pushed deeper into the wall of the cosmodrome.

"So what's the plan?" Kayla asked, her heart racing.

"We need to find you a weapon," Ghost replied. "Do you know how a gun works?"

"It's just point and shoot, right?" Kayla chuckled.

Ghost chuckled as well. "I think we're going to get along great."

Kayla made her way through the old facility. Multiple questions were running through her head. Aside from obvious ones, which Kayla figured could be largely ignored for now, there were several other, more subtle ones. She wasn't sure whether it was the fact she had been resurrected, a fact that she had come to terms with surprisingly quickly, but she could swear that he body felt...different. Not alien, but there were very small differences with her running speed and strength. Before her apparent death she couldn't lift an iron bar and now it felt like nothing.

Eventually Kayla came to a narrow corridor filled with abandoned crates of weapons. Most of the guns were broken, and the signs of a war long ago littered the ruins of the cosmodrome. She couldn't help but wonder just what had happened after those zombie-aliens had attacked, though she felt that she would be lucky to know all of what has happened.

"Hey, Ghost?" Kayla asked out loud.

"Yes?"

"How long has it been? Since my death?"

She heard Ghost sigh, almost sad. "Since my 'birth', as it were, it has been three hundred years."

Three _hundred_?

"That long...?" Kayla gasped.

"Yes, you've been dead a very, very long time."

"No, not that," Kayla said softly. "You've been searching for me for three hundred years?"

"More or less. I'll probably tell you about it sometime."

A loud clattering sound came from the catwalks above them. Ghost swore quietly. "Stay quiet. They're right above us."

Kayla nodded and crept quietly through the gloom. Every footstep echoed in the darkness and every sound sent shivers up Kayla's spine, almost there was something in the shadows stalking her, reaching out for her and making Kayla feel even more vulnerable than before.

"Here, this'll help," Ghost said, forming a light above her.

"Thanks," Kayla said, breathing a sigh of relief.

Kayla eventually came to a large gangwalk. In the gloom she could hear the chattering of insects. _Giant_ insects.

"Ghost?" she asked nervously.

"Hang tight. Fallen thrive in the dark. We won't."

He appeared in front her, looking around. "We need more light. Stay here, I'll be as quick as I can."

"What? You're just going to leave me here?" Kayla asked. "With the Fallen?"

She watched Ghost fly around the room, his light scaring away the Fallen. That seemed to be enough to drive them away from her, but she still didn't want to wait any longer than she had to. She got brief glimpses of the creatures as Ghost flew around the room. As she had already deduced, the Fallen were aliens. They were large, about five to six feet tall, insect-like in appearance and mostly clad in heavy armour with large breathing apparatus attached to the back. Suddenly the lights switched on, stunning everyone in the room. The Fallen roared and retreated and, after Kayla's eyes had adjusted to the light, she could see her enemy properly for the first time. Hordes of insectoid Fallen were covering the walls of the room.

"Kayla," Ghost shouted, flying back to her. "Kayla!"

"S-Sorry, I just..."

"Don't worry about it, I get it. But we need to get going. Quickly." Ghost motioned to a newly opened door. "This way."

Kayla nodded and ducked through the door as the Fallen opened fire on pair. Failing to catch them, the group dived for maintenance shafts to cut her off. Rahn's orders were clear: don't let the new Guardian leave this place alive.

As Kayla and Ghost ran through the corridor, Ghost stumbled on something. "Hey!" he shouted after Kayla. "I found a rifle!"

Kayla stopped and turned, quickly jogging back. She picked up the gun, an assault rifle, and looked it over.

"I hope you know how to use that thing," Ghost said.

Kayla looked at him and smirked. "Just point and shoot, right?"

Ghost nodded and disappeared. Kayla lifted the gun a few times, feeling the weight of the weapon in her hands. Taking a deep breath she set off through the workers tunnels, looking over the old metal ruins. This place must have been so beautiful in its time.

She still couldn't believe the years. Seven hundred.

"Are you worried?" Ghost asked as Kayla walked through the tunnels.

"Of course I am," Kayla replied quietly. "I just don't have the chance to show it right now."

"Oh...I'm sorry to intrude."

Kayla laughed a little. "Don't be. I mean, I'm probably going to be bawling my eyes out when we get out of here so you've got _that_ to put up with at some point." Kayla spotted something as she turned a corner. "What is that?"

Ghost appeared beside her, poking his eye out from behind the wall. Further down the corridor, with its back to the pair, was a small Fallen dressed in red armour. It was holding a small knife and a small gun. Unlike the other Fallen, this had one pair of arms, the lower pair were stumps.

"A Dreg," Ghost replied. "Fallen pawns."

Kayla steadied herself, aiming her gun from behind the wall and taking out the Dreg with a well placed headshot. It made a small grunt and fell as blood and brain matter splattered on the floor.

"Well done!" Ghost cheered before looking at Kayla. He could see a shock in her eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, just..." Kayla said, shaking. "Never killed anything before."

She took a deep breath, gripping the gun tightly. "Let's get going."

"I can sense movement," Ghost warned. "There's more up ahead. Be careful."

Kayla nodded and ran down the hallway. More Dregs blocked the next hallway, backed up by slightly larger Fallen.

"More Dregs!" Ghost shouted. "And they've got Vandals with them!"

Kayla ducked behind an alcove as the Dregs and Vandals opened fire with electrical weapons. Kayla ducked her head out, opening fire with several bullets. Reddish-purple blood painted the walls as Fallen fell.

"You're extraordinarily good at this," Ghost noted.

"Nope," Kayla replied. "I'm just winging it."

As Kayla reloaded one the Vandal dropped its shock rifle and pulled out a pair of swords before charging the Warlock. As it rounded the alcove Kayla panicked. On instinct she thrust out her hand. The Vandal screamed as a purple force blasted out of her palm, knocking it back. Kayla took the chance and picked up her Khvostov, blasting the Vandal in the face.

Kayla stumbled back slightly, backing against the wall, panting slightly. "This has got to be some sort of messed up dream..."

"Sadly it's not," Ghost replied. "Right now we need to keep pushing forward. We can rest and you can grieve when we get to the City, but right now, whatever you're doing to cope I need you to keep doing that."

Kayla sighed. "...Right."

Pushing herself off the wall, Kayla walked through the doorway. She came into a large storage room draped in deep red banners. In it were several Dregs and Vandals, as well as a tall Fallen in an elaborate spiked head-dress and a long red cape. It was carrying a large launcher type weapon.

"Uh oh..." Ghost said quietly.

"What is it?" Kayla asked.

"A Captain," Ghost replied.

"Indeed," the Captain said in a deep hiss.

"You speak English?" Kayla asked, readying her gun.

"Enough to converse with your kind," the Captain explained. "Make things easier. It is custom among your kind to introduce yourselves, yes? I am Rahn, Captain in House Devil."

"Kayla."

"Fallen once worshipped Great Machine," Rahn said. "But Great Machine _ran_ when Whirlwind came. Fallen once mighty, but Whirlwind destroyed us. We searched for Great Machine, and found it here. _Protecting_ you."

"The Traveller and...the Whirlwind?" Kayla asked.

"I think he means the Darkness," Ghost said quietly before address Rahn. "The Darkness destroyed you like it did the humans?"

"Yes," Rahn growled. "But Great Machine protects you. Uses _Guardians_ to defend you. Why did it not protect Fallen?" Rahn growled deeply, his voice vibrating throughout the room. " _GREAT MACHINE WILL RESTORE FALLEN, WILL RESTORE HOUSE DEVIL!_ "

Kayla sighed. "Then you leave me no choice."

Rahn huffed. "Then you die, yes?"

"I don't plan on it," Kayla replied.

"Fire!" Rahn bellowed.

The Devil camp erupted into a blaze of gunfire as Kayla ducked between large concrete pillars, taking headshots at the Dregs and the Vandals at every opportunity. As the Dregs came in close she backed up, kicking the aliens back and pouring as many bullets as she could into their chests.

"Incoming!" Ghost yelled.

Kayla snapped her head to the left, seeing Rahn firing of a large ball of metal from his launcher. Kayla dived to the side as the metal impacted the ground, a piece of shrapnel embedded itself in her robe. Kayla cried at in pain looking at the shard, too fearful to breath. She managed to rip it out leaving a small, bloody gash in her chest.

Kayla stood up, gasping in pain. Rahn chuckled and teleported towards her. Kayla pulled the trigger of her rifle, only to find it empty.

"Shit!" she hissed.

"Scattercast, on the shelf," Ghost said.

Kayla looked around frantically, spotting a small shelf with a white shotgun on it. Kayla grabbed it, biting back the pain that spread through her chest. She readied it, waiting for Rahn to get closer. When he was within range Kayla fired, shocked at the recoil the weapon had. But the shells were enough to stun the Captain allowing her to fire once more. Rahn grabbed his chest, bleeding slightly and gasping.

"Door on the other side of the room," Ghost said. "Go. Now!"

Kayla nodded and screamed, smacking Rahn in the face with the butt of her shotgun and knocking him to the ground. Kayla ran as best she could across the room to the door. When she got through she closed it and let Ghost lock it.

"Well, he certainly seems to be in a foul mood," Ghost said, looking at Kayla as she stumbled. "Here, let me take a look at that wound."

Kayla nodded, opening her robe slightly to let Ghost look. "Stings like a bitch."

"Haha, I bet," Ghost laughed. "Hold still, this will only take a second."

Out of Ghost's eye came a white light. The light poured itself into the wound, closing it up and leaving no scar.

"So you can open doors and heal me?" Kayla laughed. "What are you? Swiss Army Ghost?"

"Gift from the Traveller," Ghost replied, looking as though he was smiling. "We wouldn't be much use if we couldn't keep our Guardians alive, would we?"

Kayla smiled, standing up and looking around at the large rusted pipe they were now in. Ghost looked at her. "Kayla, would you care to join me on a trip through a cooling tunnel?"

"How could I resist an offer of cooling tunnels?"

The pair walked down the tunnel listening to rain water drip from the ceiling. The tunnel curved slightly, leaving Kayla very wary of what she was walking into. "Is there an exit nearby?" she asked Ghost.

"There should be a door up ahead, it'll lead us out to the main shipyard," Ghost replied. "Hmmm..."

"Something bugging you?"

"I know the Cosmodrome is a dangerous place, but I've never seen this many Fallen in one place. They must have a tighter old on this place than I thought." Ghost sighed as they came up to a door.

"This one?"

Ghost nodded. "Just a little bit farther now. Let's just hope there's still something left out here."

Kayla slowing opened the door, pointing her Scattercast at any would be enemies. The room she ended up in looked like an old control room. Old computers and filing cabinets littered the room and rubble was strewn across the floor from the ceiling. Through the broken window she could see a large snowy cliff littered with old industrial crates and several abandoned buildings. The walls towered above her and a large, ancient ship dominated the skyline.

"This was an old Cosmodrome," Ghost explained as Kayla surveyed the wasteland. "There's got to be something we can use to fly out of here."

"It's so...sad," Kayla said quietly as she walked down some metal steps.

"What do you mean?"

"To know what this place once was, and now there's just...this." She motioned to the ruins. "Is it all like this? Is it really all gone?"

"Gone, yes. But not forgotten. And we're fighting every day to get it back."

Kayla nodded, looting some ammo crates for her rifle. As she walked along the snowy cliff a large portal opened in the sky. Out of it flew three brown ships which settled over a nearby dock, Dock 13. They had a heavily armoured bow and a narrow tail with a single tail fin giving it the appearance of a large metal tadpole.

"Fallen ships!" Ghost exclaimed in shock. "This close to the surface?"

"You don't think Rahn called for reinforcements, do you?" Kayla asked, holstering her shotgun on her back and readying her assault rifle.

"It's possible," Ghost replied. "If Rahn knows I've only just found you he'll want to kill you before you back a problem for the Fallen." Ghost pondered for a moment. "I'm picking up signs of an old jumpship. Could be our ticket out of here."

"It's in Dock 13, isn't it?" Kayla asked dryly. "With all the Fallen?"

"Yes," Ghost replied, feigning confidence.

"This is going to become a regular thing isn't it?"

"Most likely, yes."

"Well, in a for a penny..." Kayla lamented, vaulting a small wall.

As she ran to Dock 13 the Fallen poured out to stop her. She managed to dispatch the Dregs in a hail of bullets and forced back the Vandals with her palm blasts. She had no idea how she was doing it, but she wasn't going to complain. As she neared the entrance of the dock she assaulted by several Vandals, back up by several small robots.

"Those are Shanks, don't let them surround you!" Ghost shouted.

Kayla switched to her Scattercast, dispatching the Shanks with ease before mowing down the Vandals. With the Fallen dead, Kayla pushed into Dock 13, moving through the collapsed corridors. She eventually came across a large room with a collapsed roof. Suspended above it, tangled in cables, was a sleek weathered jumpship. It was battered and broken in places with cracks running all over the body.

"There's the jumpship!" Ghost cried. "Take me to it, let me see if I can get us out of here..."

Kayla ran up to the ship and held out her hand. Ghost formed and flew to the ship, scanning it all over.

"I hope you know how to fly that," Kayla said.

"Don't worry, I can take you to the City," Ghost said, turning to her slightly. "The Vanguard will teach you how to fly."

"Human!" came a roaring hiss from the doorway.

"Oh, hell..." Kayla groaned.

The pair turned to see an angry Captain Rahn stood in the doorway brandishing a pair of electrified swords.

"I thought we got rid of you," Ghost said. "Take him out, Kayla!"

"Pleasure."

Kayla ran at Rahn with her Scattercast in hand. Rahn closed in, slashing down with both swords. He missed, allowing Kayla to take advantage and fire a shell into his face. Rahn stumbled back, growling. He lunged at her, swiping frantically with his swords.

"Great Machine belongs to Fallen!" Rahn snarled. "Not humans!"

Kayla blocked with her shotgun, pushing Rahn back slightly. "I'm sorry."

Rahn blinked in shocked. "What?"

"I'm sorry, for what the Darkness did to you. And I'm sorry that the Traveller chose to protect us and not your kind. It's not right, and I'm sorry."

Rahn backed off slightly, shaking his head. "Human... _sorry?_ No. Sorry not good enough."

"Rahn, it doesn't have to be like this," Kayla said calmly. "If the Fallen are victims of the Darkness too, then we should be helping each other, not fighting."

"You want...to _help_ Fallen?" Rahn asked in disbelief.

As the pair talked, Ghost watched on from the jumpship. No one really knew what had caused the Fallen to chase the Traveller and he was surprised, but not doubtful, that the Darkness was the driving force behind it. He was surprised that Kayla had taken the time to try and reason with this Fallen Captain instead of killing him out right. No other Guardian, at least none that he was aware of, ever tried to reason with the disciples of Darkness and give them a chance to surrender. As he watched his Guardian he couldn't help but feel proud.

"Rahn, please," Kayla said sternly. "I don't want to hurt you. Surely it's better for two races to work together against a common enemy then to fight each other over scraps?"

"You keep Great Machine..." Rahn seethed. "And you're _sorry?!_ Sorry doesn't help Fallen! Sorry doesn't bring great empire back! You horde Great Machine! Now, you die!"

Kayla sighed, and pulled out her rifle as Rahn charged. In a hail of bullets Kayla disabled Rahn's shield. He stumbled but slashed at Kayla angrily. She ducked, switching to her shotgun. Before she had a chance to use it Rahn punched her with one of his lower arms. The force sent her flying. Kayla growled and thrust out her left hand. It glowed a violent purple and sent an orb of purple light that exploded at Rahn's feet. The light blinded him as a small vortex appeared around him, damaging him.

"What the hell...?" Kayla asked herself. "No, save it for later."

Kayla charged with Rahn with her shotgun, blasting him in the face then switched to her rifle and filled him with bullets. Rahn roared and fell to his knees, panting and bleeding heavily.

"Well...done, human..." Rahn panted, rolling on to his back. "You killed me...perhaps Great Machine chose humans for this reason..."

Kayla kneeled over Rahn. "I don't believe the Traveller is like that. I heard that the Traveller helps people, it isn't a killer."

"Then...why did Great Machine...leave Fallen?"

"I don't know," Kayla replied, managed to open Rahn's mask. Rahn blinked weakly, mandibles clicking.

"Perhaps...you find out?"

"I will, I promise."

"Good..." Rahn said quietly, breathing his last breath.

Kayla sighed and closed Rahn's eyes. She stood and walked up to Ghost. Ghost looked at her, then hesitantly asked, "are you alright?"

"I don't know," Kayla replied simply. "I'll feel better when I'm away from the Fallen for a while."

Ghost nodded then scanned the ship. "It's been here a while. Hasn't made a jump in centuries." He turned to Kayla. "We're lucky if the Fallen haven't picked it clean."

Kayla stepped forward. "Will it fly?"

"If I can fuse some of the power matrices...yes, I can make it work."

Ghost disappeared into the ship. With a loud clang and deafening whir the ship jumped into life. It fell slightly, tearing the cables that entangled it before hovering above them. Ghost turned to Kayla.

"Okay, it's not going to break orbit, but it just might get us to the City."

"That's good enough for me," Kayla said.

"Now, about that transmat..."

Suddenly a large roar ripped through the building. Crawling out of a large hole in the wall was gargantuan Fallen with a brown horned helmet and elaborate brown and red armour. It jumped out and made its way to Kayla and Ghost, the ground shaking with every step.

"Ghost!" Kayla said hurriedly.

"Bringing you in!"

Kayla teleported into the ship and sat in the seat. "How do I work this?"

"I'll control the advanced stuff, you just steer. Ready?"

"Yeah!"

"Then let's go!"

The jumpship flew off, leaving the angered Fallen shooting futilely at it. As the pair fled the Cosmodrome, they failed to see a hooded stranger watching them from the rooftops.


	2. 1-2) Welcome to the Tower

**A/N:** Ok, so first thing I'm going to mention is that 'Become Legend' will probably not follow the lore 100%, given how vague the Bungie have kept it. I have my own timeline of how things go, with the 'City Age' lasting only about 100 years or so for the sake of convenience.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ is owned by Bungie, Activision and High Moon Studios. I own Kayla and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01: Guardian Rising**

 **Arc 01: Devils and Kings**

 **Chapter 002: Welcome to the Tower**

Kayla watched the sun start to disappear over the horizon as her jumpship flew silently over the ruined cities of planet Earth. The past few hours were spent getting from the old Russian Cosmodrome and the reborn Warlock was glad that Ghost was the one piloting the ship as it gave her more time to comprehend what had happened. So far she was still hoping that this was all a dream and that she had fallen asleep in her parents' car, but the more she looked over the mangled overgrown landscape the more it seemed to sink in. By the time they had cleared the most of Old Russia Kayla had reluctantly accepted her fate. With nothing better to do Kayla sighed and watched the world go by through the ship's windows.

Ghost watched the evening sun turn the sky into a splattered canvas of pinks and purples. He glanced over at Kayla, debating on what to talk about.

"Soo..." he said trying to strike up a conversation. "What was life like?"

"Mmm?" Kayla asked, looking at the small robot.

"What was life like... _before_ the Collapse?"

"I don't know," Kayla said tiredly. "It's all...well, sort of like a blur really..."

"Ah, I see..."

"I can remember bits and pieces. We lived in England where my mother was a teacher. My dad was a set designer, so he was up and down the country a lot. My little brother had just started primary school. Um..." Kayla bit her lip, thinking hard. "I suppose it was a nice lifestyle. We weren't rich, but we weren't poor either. We got by."

"And what about you?"

"I was training to be a doctor," Kayla replied with a faint smile. "I wanted to help people. Since I was a kid I always wanted to help people." Then smile fell slightly. "Now I have to..."

Realizing what she was thinking Ghost floated to her. "You're still going to help people, that's certain," he said reassuringly.

Kayla looked at him. "Yeah...I guess..."

"Things will work out, I promise."

The Warlock looked at Ghost. If he could smile she knew he would. "Thanks," she said. "I...I'm not really sure what I'm going to do now..."

Ghost looked out of the window, seeing the massive spherical shape of the Traveller come up on the horizon. "We'll be at the City soon. We can take it from there."

Passing through the clouds the pair of them made it to the City; a sprawling metropolis of white towers and compact block buildings that stretched out for miles. Throughout the City rivers snaked their way around the buildings while tramlines and monorails ran through the maze of streets. The City wasn't without nature though as there were many trees and parks scattered around the City, splattering the place with the colours of Spring. Surrounding the City was a giant wall that was rusted in places and, hanging above it all, was the giant spherical body of the Traveller. Kayla was in awe as her jumpship flew over the streets.

"Welcome to the last safe city on Earth," Ghost said. "So big it doesn't need a name; just a great big 'the'."

"It's...beautiful," Kayla gasped in awe. "And... _everyone_ lives here?"

"Mhmm. Not by choice, mind you."

"I gathered," Kayla chuckled. "I'd rather be in a shiny metropolis than out there with the Fallen."

The jumpship flew over several miles worth of districts before making it to the other side of the Wall. There a giant tower awaited them. The tower stretched high into the sky, watching over the City like a silent guardian.

"And this is the Tower," Ghost said as the ship pulled up to a hangar. "It's where the Guardians live. And it's your home now."

"Home..." Kayla said quietly, doing her hardest to hold back the tidal wave of emotion inside her.

The ship docked, watched over by a blonde woman. She stood up from her post, looking over the ship.

"Geez..." she said. "Who's wreck is this? Looks like it hasn't been used in...hundreds of years." She looked at her workers, a group of men in grey, oil-splattered jumpsuits. "Well don't just sit there lazing about, go see who it is!"

"Yes, Miss Holliday!" the cried, running to the ship and helping Kayla out.

"God, bunch lazy idiots the lot of them," the woman sighed, walking up to the ship. "So, let me guess...you're either a new Guardian that salvaged an ancient ship _or_...you wrecked your own in some awesome combat sequence and were forced to flee before your ship blew up?"

"U-Um..." Kayla said slowly.

"Don't worry, I won't bite," the woman smiled. "Name's Amanda Holliday. And I'm guessing that it's the former?"

Kayla nodded, unsure of what to say. The woman, Amanda, seemed nice enough. Her eyes were a piercing but friendly green and her hair was a mess of dirty blonde. Her outfit consisted of a black and grey zip up top, red neckerchief and goggles. Her pants were thick and jet black, though half of her right leg was torn exposing a mechanical leg.

"Hello?" Amanda chuckled, waving her hand in Kayla's face.

"W-What?"

"I said what's your name?"

"Oh...Kayla."

Amanda smiled. "Nice to meet ya, Kayla. Don't worry about your ship, we'll handle it here." She turned her to her workers, shouting. "Won't we boys?"

"YES, BOSS!" they yelled back.

Kayla looked at them awkwardly. "So, er..."

"Huh? Oh, you want to know where to go, right, right." Amanda guided her to the hangars exit. "Just follow this corridor to the central tower, you'll come out to a plaza. At the back of the plaza are some stairs going down into the Hall of Guardians. That's where the Vanguard are, you'll need to see them."

"T-Thanks," Kayla said quietly.

"Don't mention it," Amanda grinned before pulling Kayla into a headlock and rubbing her fist on her head. "And stop being so nervous, none of us will bite. Well...Shaxx might, but he's a puppy really."

Then she let go leaving Kayla to stumble forward. She rubbed her head as she walked down the corridor. "Ow..."

"Something wrong?" Ghost asked, appearing beside her.

"Is she always so...forceful?"

"Amanda's just energetic," Ghost replied. "Plus she's usually the first face new Guardians see, so she tends to be as friendly as possible."

" _Overly_ friendly," Kayla grumbled. Ghost stared at her. She sighed. "Sorry, just...long day."

"I understand."

Kayla soon found herself on the plaza, marvelling in awe at the sight of it. The giant pure white tower stood tall over a sprawling metropolis. Around her were dozens of Guardians, some were human but others were...different. Among the humans she could say men and women with blue-purple skin and other places were occupied be human-shaped robots.

"Ghost...?" she asked quietly.

"You don't need to be scared," Ghost reassured. "They're fighting the Darkness, same as you. The blue-skinned people are called the Awoken. No one knows where they came from, but some say they were tainted by and survived the Darkness out in the Reef. The robots are called the Exo. They're sentient and can channel the Traveller's Light. No one knows who built them, they just that, one day, they appeared coming out of the ruins like lost children."

Cautiously walking between the Guardians chatting around the plaza Kayla made herself to the balcony.

"It's even more beautiful up close," Kayla gasped.

"You like it?" Ghost asked.

"It's not what I expected for the last of humanity," Kayla said quietly. "Maybe there is something worth saving after all..."

"Everything is worth saving," came a voice from behind. "If given the chance."

Kayla instinctively jumped and drew her rifle, making everyone around her back off. The person, a woman, put her hands up defensively. "Easy, I'm not going to hurt you."

Kayla paused and lowered her gun. The woman was dark-skinned with a shaven head and pale blue eyes. She was wearing a high collared purple robe, not too dissimilar to the grey ones Kayla was wearing herself. On her left shoulder was a steel shoulder pauldron.

"My name is Ikora Rey," the woman said gently. "I'm assuming you're the Guardian whose ship just came in from the Cosmodrome?" Kayla quietly nodded. Ikora smiled. "Come on then, I'm sure you've got much to discuss with the Vanguard."

Ikora turned and walked to the back of the Tower. Kayla looked at Ghost and shrugged before following her.

"Don't make her angry," Ghost whispered. "I hear she can turn people into frogs."

Ikora down a large flight of stairs into a brightly lit corridor. The corridor branched off into three separate corridors, one marked 'Barracks', one marked 'Vendors' and the one in the centre marked 'Vanguard', which is where Ikora guiding Kayla.

"I understand you'll have a few questions," Ikora said.

"More than a few," Kayla muttered to herself.

"And I'm sure the Vanguard can answer them as best they can. I know it's quite jarring being returned from the dead and seeing how far the Fallen have come in three hundred years but we're pushing against them every day." Kayla followed behind quietly, unsure of what to say. "So what's the last thing you remember?"

"Being in the car..." Kayla replied, her voice timid. "Heading for the Cosmodrome to go to Venus..."

Ikora blinked, confused. "You're saying that like you were alive before the Collapse."

"I-I was..."

Ikora gasped, eyes widening slightly. "We need to get you to the Vanguard."

She grabbed Kayla's hand, pulling her quickly to the Hall of Guardians. The Hall was more of a room with a large table in the centre. Stood around it were and large muscular Awoken man in big, thick armour, almost like a knight and an Exo in thin, leather armour with a hood covering his blue horned head.

"...And that's how you make a perfect risotto," the Exo chuckled.

"Right..." the Awoken said. "I'll bear that in mind for the next celebration." He turned when he heard Ikora enter. "Ah, Ikora! Wonderful to see you, is this our newest recruit?"

"Oh, sure, just ignore my brilliant advice dinner parties..." the Exo grumbled.

"Cayde, shush," Ikora snapped.

"Yes, ma'am," Cayde said quickly.

Ikora huffed then turned to the Awoken. "Yes, Zavala, this is the newest Guardian...uh, I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

"It's Kayla. I was found at the Cosmodrome."

"Nice to meet you Kayla. I'm Commander Zavala, this is Cayde-6, and you've met Ikora Rey already. I'm very happy to have you here with us, Guardian. Each new member we get brings us one step closer to saving the Traveller. What do you remember of your life before this?"

"If you're asking what I know of the Traveller, nothing," Kayla said tiredly. "I died during the Collapse, this is all new to me."

Zavala paused. "I see..." he said softly. "Then, you have my condolences for those you have lost. Do you need anything from us?"

"If it's all the same to you three I just want to go to bed..."

The three looked at each other. Zavala nodded and had Ikora escort to the barracks. The barracks were spread across several floors and, as Ikora let Kayla know, were home to over five thousand Guardians, though the City actually had barracks all over it which totalled around 16 million. Ikora led Kayla to a medium sized room. It contained a single bed, with a vest top and some shorts folded neatly on the blue covers, an empty bookshelf, a TV and radio as well as an en suite bathroom.

"I'll leave you to your thoughts," Ikora said. "I'll come get you in the morning and we can take things from there."

Kayla let Ikora close the door. Silently she put her guns to one side and began to take off her robes and armour, dumping them on the hard floor.

"So, what do you think?" Ghost asked excitedly, suddenly appearing in front of Kayla.

Kayla screamed a little and turned away from him. "Don't do that!" she snapped.

"Oh...sorry, I forgot humans are funny about that stuff..." he said sheepishly, turning around. "Aren't you excited for this? A brand new Guardian to fight against the Darkness...Isn't that fantastic?"

"Not really," Kayla said quietly, putting on the black vest top.

"Oh, I'm so happy I found you!" Ghost continued. "Seeing all the others get there Guardians...and I kept on searching...but there you were! After all this time! I..." he turned to her, stopping suddenly. Kayla's head was down, her fist clenched tightly on her knees and her body shaking. "Kayla?"

"I...I can't believe it..." she whispered, voice breaking. "I've got nothing left..."

The emotion Kayla had kept pent up all day broke out of her like a flood. She slumped on her bed, gripping the covers tightly and cried like she'd never cried before. Ghost immediately flew to her, worried and panicking.

"Oh, no..." he said to himself. "W-What do I do?" He floated down to Kayla face, speaking quietly. "Kayla...it's gonna be ok, I promise."

"How can you promise that?" Kayla snapped, tears streaming down her face. "It's all gone! My family, all my friends...they _died_ three hundred years ago. You get that?! They're not coming back any time soon!"

"I know, I know," Ghost said softly. "I should have had you taken here right away, I'm sorry..."

Kayla heaved a sigh and rolled onto her back, her arm covering her eyes. "No...it's not your fault, you didn't cause this."

Ghost fidgeted awkwardly. "Is there anything I can do? I can go get..."

"No!" Kayla whimpered. "Ghost, don't...don't leave...please..."

Ghost stared at her and nodded, floating down onto the bed and nestling himself beside her head. "Alright. I'm not going anywhere."

Kayla nodded and turned to face the wall, slowly crying herself to sleep.

 _ **The next morning...**_

Kayla was rudely awakened by the alarm. Apparently all the clocks in the barracks were set to the same time, half past five in the morning. Kayla jolted awake, quickly sorting out her hair. Stumbling around the room half asleep she made it to the sink and gave her teeth a quick brush then fumbled for her doctor's uniform.

She blinked. "Oh, yeah..." she said quietly when she noticed her Guardian robes instead. Sighing, Kayla focused herself and got dressed in her Warlock attire. "Ghost?"

Kayla looked over at him. His eye was dim and he seemed to have rolled himself up in the covers, snoring. Kayla chuckled and walked up to him. "Ghoooost? Time to get up."

She rocked Ghost gently. He stirred and floated upwards, eye beginning to glow. "H-huh, what?" Ghost blinked. "Oh, good morning Kayla."

Kayla smiled warmly. "Morning, sleepy head. Sleep well?"

"I had this weird dream...that teddy bears were smearing me in jam..." Ghost said, frowning. He shook himself. " What about you? How are you feeling?"

Kayla made a face. "Eh...so-so. No use crying about it now, I suppose," she shrugged. "Didn't Ikora say she was going to see us today?"

Right on cue there was a knock on the door. Kayla picked up her two guns then slid the door open. Outside was Ikora looking stern and professional. "Good morning, Kayla. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I guess. Could've been worse."

Ikora smiled. "Good. Now, I don't suppose we can continue where we left off?"

Kayla nodded and Ikora led her and Ghost to the Hall of Guardians. There Kayla discussed with them what little she could remember of her previous life and how she woke in the Cosmodrome and fought her way through the House of Devils.

"I see..." Zavala said. "Well, it seems you've had quite a journey here. Not many new Guardians who find themselves in a situation like that can say they've walked away victorious."

"I don't suppose you know any Golden Age secrets?" Cayde asked slyly.

Kayla give him an apologetic look. "Sorry. I can only remember my family and bits and pieces. The rest is a blur."

"Ah, no worries," Cayde smiled. "Just thought I'd ask, any knowledge of the Golden Age is worth inquiring about."

"Guardian, may I see your weapons?" Zavala asked.

Kayla stared at him. "Um, sure!"

With Ghost help she digistructed her weapons, the Khvostov and the Scattercast. Zavala looked over them while Cayde picked up the Khvostov.

"Wow...!" he gasped, marvelling at the gun. "And this thing still works?"

"Yeah," Kayla replied. "I didn't have many problems with it."

Cayde handed the rifle to Zavala. "Hmm..." Zavala said. "The Scattercast is fine, but you'll need a new rifle." He walked up to Kayla, handing a small card. "Take this to Banshee in the vendors hall, you can get a cheap gun for free with it."

"You'll need Glimmer to get the good stuff," Cayde smirked.

"Behave!" Ikora yelled, slapping Cayde.

Kayla watched the three, slightly amused, before leaving.

"Oh! One more thing Guardian," Zavala said. "Amanda Holliday wanted to see you about your ship?"

Kayla nodded before heading out, rounding the corridor to the vendors hall. The vendors hall was like a huge market with robots and people selling a variety of goods ranging from food, to media, to weapons and armour.

"Do you know anything about Banshee?" Kayla asked as she snaked her way through the crowd.

"Only so much," Ghost replied. "He's an Exo with a spiky head, he's the Tower's main gunsmith. Oh, and he fought in the Battle of Twilight Gap."

"Right..."

Kayla looked around, keeping to the vendors in the walls, figuring that being the most popular gunsmith meant he had a large stock and needed a big enough space for it all. She eventually found a blue Exo with a spiked head quietly shuffling his way carrying two boxes of guns.

"All this Guardians, and yet no one helps an old man carry some boxes..." he grumbled.

She watched the Exo as he dropped a box, immediately rushing to help. "I got this," she said kindly, picking up the box.

The Exo sighed. "Thanks," he said. "Most people don't seem to bother. Sure, they need me for a gun, but moving boxes it too much like hard work. I'm Banshee." He paused for moment. "At least I'm pretty sure its Banshee."

Kayla's eyes widened as she smiled. "I'm Kayla! Nice to meet you."

Banshee nodded and continued on through the crowd to his stall. "Something tells me you're new to this."

"What gives you that idea?"

"You're too nice. Most Guardians aren't as friendly as you. Too professional, well, they'd to be, the kind of job they do. So, you're either new or just very optimistic."

Banshee's stall was in a small corner of the large hall. When they got there Kayla set the box down on the counter. When Banshee was in he put both of them in the back room then came back for Kayla. "I'm guessing you need a weapon? That's usually why people are here. No one ever comes here to chat."

Kayla nodded and pulled out the card Zavala gave her. "Commander Zavala said I get free gun if I gave you this?"

Banshee took the card and inspected it. "I was right, you are new," he said after a moment. "So what do you want?"

"Well...I found an assault rifle in the Cosmodrome. So...something like that. Just...more precise?"

"You're not very good at this, are you?" he chuckled, tapping the counter and turning. "You'll want a pulse rifle." He quickly grabbed a small, brown, submachine gun-like weapon from rack on the back wall. "This Pulsar should be enough. I used that gun in Twilight Gap."

"Wow, really?" Kayla gasped as he handed it over, feeling the weight of it in her hands.

"Mhmm. Didn't help mind you. But that's not the gun's fault."

"Oh..." Kayla said, frowning at the gun.

"Oh, well," Banshee shrugged. "Now get going, I have stuff to do."

Kayla nodded. "Thanks for the gun." Disappearing into the crowd she looked over the rifle. "So this is...semi automatic?"

"Yes," Ghost replied. "Most pulse rifles fire three rounds at once."

"Huh..." Kayla said. "Well, I guess we have to Amanda next."

Kayla arrived at the hangar to see Amanda waiting at her desk. She smiled when she saw Kayla. "Ah, Greenhorn! You came back!"

"Greenhorn?" Kayla asked, confused.

"Don't worry, I give everyone nicknames," Amanda laughed.

Kayla shook her head, a faint smile on her face. "How's my ship?"

Amanda chuckled and jumped up from her seat like a coiled spring. "Oh, it was a doozy! But it's the same ship you came in on. Just had to change the fuel tank, the windows, the body, the coolant, the paintwork, the brake, the thrusters, the accelerator, whole engine really. Look forward."

"What? Why?" Kayla said, looking ahead and suddenly feeling a sharp prick on the back of her neck. "Ow!" She scowled at Amanda, who was innocently holding a large nail gun shaped device. "What was that for?"

I chipped you with a device that will allow people to know how to fly," Amanda explained. "Most newbies don't, and we don't have the time to train them. Soo we chip them."

"Could've warned me..." Kayla grumbled.

"Would have let me?" Amanda asked back. Kayla shook her head. "Didn't think so. Anyways, the good news is, we've fixed your ship like it was built yesterday. The bad news is, it doesn't have a warp drive, so you're stuck on Earth until we can get you another one fitted."

"How long would that take?"

Amanda shrugged. "Dunno. The City makes its own but we only get new ones every couple of months, all which are pre-booked. So, unless you've got another way I can't help you."

Kayla nodded. "Thank you anyway."

"No problem."

Kayla left the hangar wondering what to do next. Ghost appeared beside her. "Just typical. We find a ship and it doesn't even have a warp drive," he sighed.

"Hey, don't be so down hearted," Kayla said reassuringly.

"Says you!"

"Look. We found a ship out there, I'm sure we can think of something. Maybe we could scavenge one out in the Cosmodrome."

Ghost thought, nodding. "If we found a working ship, it's plausible that we can find a warp drive. Zavala will know what to do."

The pair swiftly returned to the Vanguard, asking Zavala for any leads.

"Well..." the bald man said, thinking. "We got word of a ship that crashed a few days ago. The pilot's fine, but the ship is a wreck. However, the warp drive could still be functional."

Kayla nodded and ran off to the hangar, ready to put her new flying skills to the test.

 _ **Earth, Old Russia, Cosmodrome**_

The ship flew silently over the snowy hills of the Cosmodrome. As it happened, the chip in the back of Kayla's neck worked perfectly. On the journey Ghost explained that chips like this one downloaded information directly into Kayla's brain and stimulated the right muscles and nerves for the job. The difference from the day before, Kayla found, was staggering.

"Still can't beat can't beat a good text book," she chuckled.

"You like to read?" Ghost asked. "I'd have to take you to the Tower library sometime. Still...I hope we _can_ find a warp drive out here. Without it we're pretty much useless to the Tower without one." He sighed, looking out at the wastes. "There's so little left out here. We were lucky to find this ship. Let's just hope our luck holds out..."

"Ghost relax," Kayla said reassuringly.

"Sorry, it's just...300 years without a Guardian. I just want to prove that we can make a good team."

"Haha, you little lightbulb."

Ghost stared at her. "Don't call me that."

"Well, I'll find _something_ to call you," Kayla smirked back.

Kayla materialized in the foothills just under the old colony ship. Fallen were crawling around, breaking open long abandoned building in the hopes of finding loot. Keeping low in the bushes, Kayla watched them through the scope of her Pulsar.

"What are they doing?" she asked quietly.

"Searching for machinery," Ghost replied. "The Fallen are nomadic pirates that, if Rahn was right, have been chasing the Traveller for millenia. We're not too sure why but the Fallen worship machnes. The House of Devils have been tearing apart every computer, vehicle and AI they can find."

"The what of who now?" a puzzled Kayla asked, frowning.

"Fallen are separated into Houses, which you can tell by colour," Ghost explained. "Earth is occupied by the House of Devils, which wear red, and the House of Kings, which wear yellow. Nobody seems to encounter them very often. Each House worships something called a Servitor Prime, which are their machine-gods. The Devils' Prime is Sepiks Prime which we believe is somewhere in the Cosmodrome."

Kayla continued to watch the Devils, deciding to avoid a fight for now. She continued up the hills, following Ghost as he led her to the crashed ship. The ship was already a smouldering, blackened wreck with some of the embers still burning. Kayla looked over it.

"Hard to believe anyone survived this..." she murmured.

"We're lucky if the Fallen haven't already picked this clean," Ghost muttered as he flew around, scanning the ship. "Darn..."

"Nothing?"

Ghost shook side to side. "No...but the warp drive has a tracker on it. If I can get to functioning computer and put this signal into it we might have a chance at finding it."

Kayla nodded. "Where do we start?"

"There's an old outpost nearby. That should have a map."

With that Kayla turned and heading back down the hills. She eventually found a small rusted shack that was overgrown with weeds and guarded by Fallen. She turned to Ghost. "You sure that's the place?"

"Positive."

Kayla sighed and ran to the shack. Almost immediately the Dregs and Vandals opened fire. Kayla avoided them and fired the Pulsar taking out three Dregs with successive headshots. A Vandal rushed her with sword but Kayla used a Palm Strike, stunning it before finishing it off with another swift headshot. More Vandals rushed her, but Kayla clenched her fist, focusing on the orb of purple light she'd thrown when fighting Rahn. Taking a deep breath she thrust out her palm, sending out a swirling Vortex Grenade. The Fallen were trapped in the void, unable to move. Eventually they dropped dead, all life drained from them. Kayla was stunned.

"Oh! Your Voidwalker abilities are taking shape," Ghost said happily. Kayla raised an eyebrow. Ghost sighed and continued. "There are three types of Warlock. Voidwalker, Sunsinger and Stormcaller. You're a Voidwalker, you can manipulate the dead space."

"That's...helpful?" Kayla said.

"Ikora can explain it better. Let's just get this map up."

Kayla slipped into the shack before anymore Fallen arrived. In the quiet building she found stairs to a basement with a large computer. Ghost sped towards it.

"Interesting..." he mused to himself. "This is a map of the Cosmodrome and its surrounding areas. Not only that, but there's loads of data here!"

"Is that why the Fallen were lurking around?"

"Most likely," Ghost replied excitedly. "My word, the amount of stuff here is astounding. Details on human history, the City...no wonder the House of Devils were trying to hack this thing. But...something is stopping them."

Kayla thought for a moment. "Hang on, how come _you_ can access it?"

"That's the thing, I can't. It's only letting me access what we need to. Any time I try go someplace else it screams at me in Old Russian."

"Right...well if can get this building's coordinates the Vanguard can look into it. For now let's just get what we came for."

Ghost nodded and put the tracking signal in the computer. "...Ah."

"What?"

"You remember the place we got the ship? The one with the huge scary Fallen?"

"Yes...?"

"It's there."

"Ah, crap," Kayla sighed. "Come on then." With that Kayla headed back up the stairs. "Only known you a day and I'm already running errands for you."

"That's not _my_ fault!"

 _ **Earth, Old Russia, Cosmodrome, Dock 13**_

Kayla and Ghost arrived at Dock 13, hesitant and nervous. Around them were several Dregs and Vandals clicking and roaring menacingly. In the centre was a huge Fallen dressed in regal red armour and furs with his head encased in a large spiked helmet.

"Oh, no..." Ghost whispered, horrified.

"Something wrong?" Kayla asked.

"That's an Archon! This is bad!"

"What's an Archon?"

"I!" the giant Fallen roared triumphantly. "Am an Archon! You, puny Guardian! Stand before Riksis! Archon to House Devil! I am voice of machine-god, Sepiks Prime! And I! Stand in judgement of you!"

Silence filled the room. Kayla watched Riksis, bewildered. The Archon was certainly flamboyant and...loud, and Kayla figured she'd have to fight him if things took a turn for the worst.

"So...Archons are like priests?" she asked Ghost quietly.

"Pretty much. Each House is led by a triad: a Kell, an Archon and a Prime. The Kell is the political leader of a House, they keep it together. The Archon acts as the caretaker of the Prime and acts as an advisor to the Kell, relaying whatever it is the Prime wants. If, like the Devils, the Kell is dead, then the Archon will take over leadership until a new Kell can be found."

"Are you the one who Captain Rahn was chasing yesterday?" Riksis boomed.

"Uh...yes..."

"Then _you_ must be the one who killed him, yes?"

"Yeah. You know, you and Rahn both have remarkably good English."

Riksis chuckled. "Indeed. If House Devil is to fight City for Great Machine House Devil must be able to converse. Now...you are after this?" Riksis asked, holding out a small spherical machine.

"The warp drive!" Ghost exclaimed.

The Archon laughed. "The reason that ship was there was it was deemed unfit for our purposes. Had we known it could fly it would not have been there. However...seeing you fly away knowing you needed a warp drive, well...it's the best way to trap an inexperienced Guardian, yes?"

Kayla readied herself. "So I'm assuming we fight for it?"

Riksis' laughter boomed through the room. "You're remarkably perceptive, human. We will duel in trial by combat. I, _Riksis!_ Challenge _you!_ To duel to the _death!_ "

The Fallen cheered, deafening Kayla. "I accept, I guess."

Riksis smirked from behind his helmet and pulled out his shrapnel launcher.

Riksis pounded the ground, sending out a powerful shockwave which knocked Kayla to the ground. Kayla stumbled to her feet, narrowly avoiding a blast from Riksis' shrapnel launcher. Kayla ran to the edge of the ring of Fallen had made before opening fire on Riksis, the bullets bouncing off his armour. Riksis chuckled, throwing a shock grenade at her.

Kayla jumped into the air, avoiding the blast, pulling out her shotgun before charging Riksis and firing a shell at her face. Riksis roared, pounding the ground again and knocking Kayla off her feet. Riksis charged and slammed the launcher in the ground. Kayla rolled out of the way as the launcher was forced into the dirt. While Riksis pulled it out Kayla fired at him with her rifle. The Archon roared and swung the tail end of his launcher round. Kayla ducked but Riksis grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the ground. Kayla gasped in shock, coughing up blood.

"You cannot defeat me!" Riksis hissed. "I will offer your head to Sepiks Prime!"

"Yeah," Kayla grunted. "Not gonna happen!"

Kayla opened her free hand, throwing a Void Grenade at Riksis. The Archon roared in pain and let Kayla go, backing off. Kayla got up, her lower back bruised and arching. Ghost came to her aid and engulfed her back in a white light.

"I got you," he said, concentrating.

Kayla wearily fired at Riksis, angering him further. With a powerful roar Riksis fired his launcher Kayla jumped backwards, stunned that she kept going.

"Ohhhh my god!" she screamed before dropping like a rock. "...So that's a thing now."

"Back's healed, take him out!" Ghost shouted. "Now!"

Kayla nodded and ran at Riksis again, firing at him with her shotgun. Riksis roared, firing successive blasts at her. She kept going, circling around and firing at him again. When Riksis turned to slam the ground again Kayla jumped, gliding away, before throwing another Void Grenade. Riksis dropped to his knees when it exploded, firing a round from the Pulsar into his throat. Riksis slumped backwards, dead.

The House of Devils looked at each other in shock and confusion. This Guardian...she was not Saladin, Osiris, Saint-14 or the Vanguard. She had only appeared yesterday and yet she had just taken down Riksis! The Fallen were afraid. Some drew their weapons and there was chattering of Sepiks Prime being next. Unsure of what to do all eyes fell on Kayla.

Kayla looked at them, placing one foot on Riksis' lifeless body. "Do any of you want to try? _Really?_ "

The Fallen yelped in fright and fled Dock 13. As the call went out and new spread of Riksis' death like wildfire the House of Devils all over the Cosmodrome retreated to protect Sepiks Prime. Kayla watched the last Dregs leave and waited a moment.

"I am so glad that worked," Kayla said, breathing a sigh of relief before picking the warp drive. "So this is what we were after? It's smaller than I expected..."

Meanwhile Ghost looked over Riksis' body, amazed and in deep shock. "You just killed an Archon..." he breathed, turning to his Guardian who was sat messing with the warp drive.

"Hmm?" she asked, looking up.

"Y-You just killed an _Archon!_ " he repeated. "And not even two days in! This could cripple the House of Devils."

Kayla looked at Ghost, then Riksis. "I take it that this is unheard of?"

Ghost nodded. "You...you don't even know the scale of what you've done, do you?"

"Give me a break, I was reborn yesterday," Kayla said, childishly pouting. "What do you want from me? I don't understand any of this!"

"I know, I know...still, the Vanguard won't believe this."

Kayla thought for a moment. "C'mon, help me take his helmet off."

 _ **Earth, City, Tower**_

"You blue idiot!" Ikora shouted.

"Woah, that's a bit racist, Ikora," Cayde teased.

"Shut. Up." Ikora growled, turning back to Zavala. "You knew the Fallen had stripped that ship!"

"If the new Guardian can survive this then I believe she will be alright here," Zavala said calmly.

"So this was a test?! You had no right to send her scouring across the Cosmodrome! The Devils may be weak, but the Kings are out there too! And she cannot handle them!"

"The Kings have been quiet since Twilight Gap," Zavala replied calmly. "And your Hidden are keeping an eye on them. The Guardian will be alright."

"The 'Guardian' has a name, you know," Kayla said, smirking as she walked in. All heads turned to her.

"So, did you get a warp drive?" Ikora asked.

"Holliday has it," Kayla replied. "Oh, and we thought you'd want this."

Ghost appeared over the table and shined a light down. Riksis' helmet materialized and landed with a thud. The Vanguard stared at in shock.

"Is that..." Ikora gasped.

"H-Holy shit!" Cayde chuckled.

"Guardian..." Zavala said slowly. "Who had the warp drive?"

"A Devil named Riksis."

"The _Archon_?" Zavala asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," Ghost replied. "There's no other way Kayla could know who he is."

"You killed an Archon..." Zavala said, a small smile forming on his face. "Heh. Guardian, I'd like to formally welcome you to the Tower. May your Light shine strong."

Kayla grinned and jumped, high fiving Ghost who tapped her palm gently. Zavala waved a hand and ordered them to go rest for the rest of the day.

"I can't believe it," Ghost said happily as they walked out onto the balcony. "Barely two days in and you've slain an Archon. I think we're going to do well here."

"Don't really have a choice," Kayla said with a faint sadness in her voice. "This is my life now."

Zavala mounted Riksis' helmet on the Vanguards trophy wall next to Solkis. the Devil Kell's, helmet. He thought it fitting smiling at the symbolism.

"Now that Solkis and Riksis are dead we should make plans to move onto Sepiks Prime," Ikora said. "The sooner that thing is down the better."

"The new Guardian really is something though," Cayde said, leaning on the wall. "What do you think, Zavala?"

Zavala sighed. "All we can do is hope. You all know the Guardians who got lucky on their first day and took it to their heads. We'll just have to wait and see."


	3. 1-3) Panic Attack

**A/N:** So, what does everyone think of the Age of Triumph so far? Yeah, I know its rehashed content. But hey, the old Raids are relevant again.

So, in light of the changes, the Vault of Glass, Crota's End, King's Fall and Wrath of the Machine arcs will use the slightly altered versions.

Example, the 'hold the line' sequence just before the Templar and the Templar's legions will match the updated version.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _**Destiny**_ is owned by Bungie, Activision and High Moon Studios. I only Kayla and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01: Guardian Rising**

 **Arc 01:Devils and Kings**

 **Chapter 003: Panic Attack**

The next few days Kayla spent on patrol and familiarizing herself with the Cosmodrome. The City was nestled somewhere in Old Russia and the Cosmodrome wasn't too far north of it. The Wall apparently went on for miles and kept out much of the Fallen, save the few that had nestled in the Cosmodrome. Ghost had explained that the Devils refused to attack the City head on since Solkis was killed by old Guardian named Saint-14 and they were even less likely to do so now that Riksis had been defeated.

The Cosmodrome itself was home to the shipyards, an old spaceport and three large stations: the Terrestrial Complex, which handled Mercury, Venus and Mars; the Lunar Complex, which handled the trade ports on the Moon; and the Jovian Complex, which used to maintain contact with all colonies beyond the Asteroid Belt. Kayla felt like a woman out of time. It seemed like yesterday that everything around her was clean and shining, the pinnacle of humanity's Golden Age. Now it was decaying and rotten, a monument to a once proud race and a once proud time. She sighed to herself sadly.

"Do you want to go back?" Ghost asked, sensing her sadness.

"No," Kayla said, sighing heavily. "It won't change anything."

The pair continued onwards. Ghost thought deeply as they trekked across the hills. "How are taking all...this?" he asked after a moment.

"How do you think?" Kayla asked back. "I'm still unable to grasp the fact that it's 2716 not 2400! And yet here it is." She motioned to the rust graveyard of planes and complexes around her before sighing again. "Sorry...I try not to think about it too much."

"No, no," Ghost replied. "I understand. Most of the newer Guardians at least have some idea of what's going on? Do you remember what attacked you that day?"

"Flashes...They looked like monsters. Something that Satan himself swallowed and then spat back out. And the noise. That horrible screeching _noise_..."

Ghost looked at her, concerned. Could it be...?

The conversation was interrupted by a small green Ghost. "Help! Help!" she yelled, floating up to them. "Y-You two look helpful! Are you?"

"Calm down," Kayla said gently. "What's happened?"

"My Guardian is down! I can't heal him on my own, I don't have enough power! Oh, what do I do...?"

"Where are they?" Ghost asked.

"B-By the Mothyards! Please, hurry!"

Kayla took off, sprinting after the green Ghost. The Ghost led them to a medium sized building, outside of which laid an Awoken Titan. He was bleeding heavily from his stomach.

"M-Mr Delta," the Ghost said, flying up to her Guardian. "It's ok, I brought help."

The blonde-haired man stirred slowly. "Good girl, Sal..."

Kayla went up to him. "Don't move," she ordered. "Let me help, I'm a doctor. Well...kinda..."

Kayla gently put the man in the recovery position, taking off his chest piece. There was a large gash on his chest that looked like it had come from a sword and, judging by the burns around it, the sword and been electrified. "Do you know who do this?" Kayla asked.

"I-It was a Captain," the Ghost, Sal, replied. "He was a big brute, yes, he was!"

"Is he still here?"

"No," Sal said, shaking from side to side. "He ran back to the Devil's Lair. I hope he doesn't come back..."

"He won't, just calm down. Delta?"

Delta stirred again, groaning. "I haven't seen you around before."

"Never mind, you look like you were stabbed, right?"

Delta nodded. "I got careless."

"Don't worry about it. Just relax, I'm gonna have Ghost heal you."

Kayla slowly pulled Delta around as gently as possible, laying his head on her lap and exposing his stomach. Ghost flew in and healed the deep gash with his light. Delta hissed in pain as the flesh fused shut. "Ahh, that stings..." he said, sitting up slowly.

"I'm gonna take you back to the Tower," Kayla said. "You need a new chest piece anyway." She held up the armour piece, showing the metal torn open with blood covering the edges of the gap.

Delta laughed. "Damn, no wonder that hurt, haha. I'm Delta," he said, holding out his hand.

"Kayla," she smiled back, shaking it.

 _ **Earth, City, Tower**_

Kayla was surprised the Tower had infirmary, though Ghost explained it was more of a 'just-in-case' than an actual hospital. Delta was sat on a hospital bed with a large bandaged around his abdomen. Sal was flying around him quickly, worrying over him.

"You have to make sure you eat and drink plenty!" she said. "And get lots of sleep! And not strain yourself!"

Delta chuckled and pet her. "You worry too much. I'll be fine."

Sal made a worried squeak. Ghost looked at Kayla, then Sal. "Sal, why don't you come tell me more about you and Delta?" he asked. Sal gasped and nodded, the pair flying to the windows.

Kayla watched her in amusement. "She's like a little kid."

"Mhmm, I know," Brankev replied. "Sees me as an older brother than anything else." The blonde Awoken shifted round slightly. "That's the about the ghosts, they're all individuals just like people. But Sal's a good girl. Bit nervous in fights, but she can handle herself." Brankev smiled at the pair of ghosts then looked at Kayla. "Haha, first meeting and I've already got my shirt off.

He motioned to his blue, toned and heavily scarred body. "I see this one," Kayla smirked, pointing to the bandage. "Isn't the first."

"You like it?" Delta teased.

"Not interested," Kayla chuckled, sticking her tongue out.

"Don't worry, I'm only messing around."

"I must say, Delta," said another Awoken man who was striding up to them. "You really _are_ careless."

Delta groaned. "It's just a flesh wound."

"And you could have been killed," the man said patronizingly. "Dead Orbit could have lost a valuable member if it had not been for _her_." He pointed at Kayla.

Kayla's eyes narrowed on his finger. She looked up at the man, raising an eyebrow. The man looked at her. "Forgive me," he drawled. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Arach Jalaal."

Kayla looked the man over. "Kayla," she said politely.

Jalaal was a tall, thin man with a long face framed by thin black hair, a pointed nose and a beard on his chin. His eyes were a dark white, grim and serious, matching the gold-laced blacks and greys have his attire. The man held a clipboard and his face seemed to be forever stuck in a constant patronizing scowl, even when he attempted to smile.

"A pleasure to meet you, Kayla, Jalaal said, shaking her hand. "If you would please excuse us. Delta and I need to have a little...talk."

"That's what he _says_..." Brankev winked with a loud whisper.

Kayla nodded and called Ghost then left quietly. When they were far enough from earshot she turned to the little robot.

"Who was he?" she asked.

"Arach Jalaal," Ghost replied. "The leader of Dead Orbit."

"And Dead Orbit is...?"

"There are a few groups known as factions in the City. There's a fair few, but the main ones are Dead Orbit, Future War Cult and New Monarchy. One believes we're all doomed, one believes war is forever and the other wants to have a King instead of a republic. I tend to stay out of politics, too much hassle."

"Eesh...sounds like it," Kayla said, heading out to the balcony. "Do you think he'll be alright?"

"Delta? Probably. His ghost, Sal, said he's survived worse than a Captain's sword." Ghost faltered slightly. "Oh, hang on...hmm...message from the Speaker..." Ghost's eye glowed for a second before he turned to Kayla. "There's a locked door in the Cosmodrome."

"...A _door?_ " Kayla repeated sceptically.

"Apparently the Fallen are keeping it locked, meaning it's important. Could be one of their Barons."

"Alright. Let's get to it."

 _ **Earth, Old Russia**_

 _ **Cosmodrome, Steppes**_

Kayla arrived in the Cosmodrome. Taking a moment to get her bearings then set off west. As she trekked through the rusted paths Kayla noticed that the Cosmodrome had been awfully quiet since Riksis was killed and she wondered where the House of Devils had actually disappeared to. She wasn't one to complain though and Kayla was glad for the lack of Fallen, though she remained wary in the silence.

"You know, this place must have been amazing before the Collapse," Ghost said. "Thousands of humans boarding colony ships, off to build cities beyond."

"It was..." Kayla murmured.

Ghost looked at her. "The door is in the Skywatch on the other side of the Steppes."

The pair headed down a steep hill near what appeared to be an old floodgate.

"Where is it?" Kayla asked.

"You can see it when we get over this hill."

Kayla hiked up the other side of the floodgate, panting when she got to the top. Like the rest of the Cosmodrome the area was covered in coarse sand and rusted buildings, with addition of several long abandoned planes. However, she noticed the first since of Spring. Flowers had appeared, adding specks of red yellow and blue to the wasteland, something Kayla was thankful for. Ghost flew ahead of her a little.

"You that building in the distance?" he asked. "The one with the radar?"

"Yeah," Kayla replied staring at a large domineering complex of buildings in the distance.

"That's the Skywatch."

The Skywatch was on top of a plateau and looked similar to old buildings of the late 20th Century, red and brick and mortar. Around it was several extensions looked to have been added several centuries apart from each other. It had about a dozen disused generators next to it that had been torn apart, presumably by the Fallen. The radar on the top took up half the roof and was collapsing due to rust and centuries of disrepair. There was also an observatory with the telescope removed. Kayla made her way up a small driveway and kept close to the wall of the building. The only entrance she saw was an open garage, and that was guarded by a Captain and a trio of Vandals.

Kayla sighed. "Why can't this be easy?"

"It's less fun that way?" Ghost suggested.

Kayla shook her head and silently picked off one of the Vandals with a clean headshot from her Pulsar. A second Vandal turned but was taken down as well.

"You're getting good at this," Ghost noted.

"I'm a fast learner," Kayla said, dodging the sword of the last Vandal and smacking it with a Palm Strike. The Vandal roared and swung its swords again. Kayla whacked it with the butt of her gun, switching to her shotgun and blowing its head off, making Ghost grimace.

The Captain roared and charged her but Kayla fired her shotgun again, stunning it. The Captain growled and lunged at Kayla, slashing her arm. Kayla grunted in pain but fired back again. With its shield down the Captain backed off slightly, just enough for Kayla to throw a Void Grenade. The Captain panicked as the small vortex surrounded it, sucking all life from it. With a faint whimper the Captain fell to the ground, lifeless.

"I was expecting more resistance," Kayla said, stepping over the Captain's body.

"The Devils must have retreated to Sepiks Prime," Ghost mused. "With the Archon dead there's no one to protect it. That's the only explanation."

"Then...what's behind the door?" Kayla asked, a little anxious.

Ghost remained silent as the pair walked through the dusty, cobweb filled building. They arrived at what Kayla recognized as a storage bay. The grey concrete walls were covered with scorch marks and bullet holes and the large metal corrugated gate in the wall had several dents in it, as though something on the other side had slammed against it.

"This was one of the Skywatch's old array stations," Ghost said to himself. "The Lunar Complex, a link to the lunar colonies. Obviously."

"Something's wrong," Kayla said nervously. "If this is meant to hold a Baron then why are there no guards? And why would a Baron do this?" She motioned to the dents on the gate.

Ghost was apprehensive. Kayla was right, something was off. There a was crushing sense of dread in the air and a faint, foul stench of death. Hesitantly Ghost went to the door controls, scanning them then grumbling to himself.

"What is it?" Kayla asked.

"It's locked tight..." Ghost replied, hacking the control panel. "The Fallen _really_ didn't want anyone getting in...or out."

Kayla gulped and readied herself. The gate slowly rolled upwards, the creaks and groans of the gears showing its age. As the gate slowly opened the foul stench engulfed them like a wave. It stank of rotting flesh and dirt, making Kayla want to throw up. She gagged and coughed.

"Christ!" she gasped. "What the hell is that?!"

Ghost watched, thankful he'd turned his olfactory sensors off. There was only one thing that gave off this horrible stench and he was silently praying to the Traveller that he was wrong.

Kayla composed herself and stepped forward. The room was pitch black but Kayla could hear the crunch of bones under her feet. Around her were all manner of disgusting insects: cockroaches, moths, slugs and the sound of flies buzzing filled her ears. Every fibre of her being was screaming at her to leave.

The sound of metal falling spooked her.

"Careful, lots of movement up ahead," Ghost warned.

Kayla slowly ascended the iron stairs in front of her. Despite her firm grip on her gun she was trembling slightly. She recognized this smell, but she couldn't place from where. Ghost followed behind, lighting the room as best he could. The room at the top was tall and full of old, broken computers. Kayla saw something move out of the corner of her eye. Gripping the gun tighter she turned and fired, the gunfire briefly lighting the room.

Nothing.

She had the scuttling of footsteps and the hairs on the back of her neck stoof on end. Then came the only ear-splitting screech.

"No...!" Kayla gasped, eyes widening in horror.

They came charging out of the darkness. Grey, spindly, vaguely humanoid creatures. They were tall and gangly with thin limbs and razor sharp claws. They had no eyes but long flared nostrils and jaws of dozens of needle-like, gnashing teeth that were constantly chewing.

The first couple charged Kayla, forcing against the back wall. Kayla pulled out her shotgun and fired at them in panic. A pause from the onslaught and Kayla found herself still pulling away at the trigger. It clicked hopelessly. She looked and fumbled for more ammo, dropping most of it on the floor. Then the Thralls came again. Kayla screamed in fear, whacking one with her Scattercast and throwing a Void Grenade at the mob. With the thin creatures down, more came out of the gloom: thicker, nimble but well built with reddish-brown armour and three glow eyes on their heads. They fired at her with void-based plasma. Fighting down the urge to throw up Kayla grabbed her Pulsar and fired blindly, managing to pick off the monsters with some difficulty. Then she slid down the wall, shaking like a leaf with tears in her eyes.

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **Cosmodrome**_

 _ **Several Centuries ago**_

"Stop pushing!" Kayla huffed. "Mum! Tommy won't stop pushing me!"

"She's lying!" the little boy next to her said innocently.

Kayla's mum turned around in her car seat. She was a beautiful women with long black hair tied into a high ponytail and beautiful blues eyes that glistened in the morning sun. Although she was in her early forties she had a youthful look about her.

"Tommy, stop pushing your sister!" she said sternly. "And Kayla, you're 21 years old, you really should be above fighting with your little brother."

Kayla glared slightly at Tommy who stuck his tongue out when their mother wasn't looking. The family were in a car driven by Kayla's dad in a large tailback on the high heading into the Russian Cosmodrome. They were heading to Ishtar on Venus to see a family member who worked for the Collective but, due to a large science fair happening in the same region the road was packed up for miles.

Kayla stuck her headphones on and looked over at the spaceport, admiring all the ships lined up waiting to ship people of to the stars. The Traveller had given humanity so much since its arrival and, after years of rapid advancement, they were finally looking to head outside the Sol System.

"Oh, David," Kayla's mum said to the father of the family. "Why couldn't we just get one of those hovercars." She pointed to the air traffic above them flying over the crowded highway.

"Look, Alex," David said calmly. "It would have cost more to buy the hovercars than the tickets to Venus. Besides, we don't need one of them. Ol' Sally's given us plenty of happy family memories."

Kayla chuckled at her dad's nickname for the old people carrier they were in. David was a incredibly tall man and, at 6'8'', easily dwarfed many other people. He had a small brown beard and shoulder length brown hair, looking a throwback from the hippy era many centuries before though, as Kayla was well aware, late 20th Century culture had made a comeback in the Golden Age.

Looking out over the Caspian Sea Kayla couldn't help but wonder how life could be any worse than this.

"Oh, my god..." Kayla heard Alex gasp over the music in ears.

Kayla took her headphones off and leaned over to get a closer look through the car's front window. A large...portal of sorts had opened up above the Cosmodrome, throwing out all the hovercars heading to and from. Any movement on the highway came to a halt as several more portals opened in the sky. Out of the portals came ominous flying ships that looked like alien sarcophagi, casting great shadows over the highways. Many people had got out of their cars to get a better look at these new ships, Kayla's family included.

Then one of the ships fired on the highway, the screams of people splitting the eerie silence apart. More of the ships fired and a sudden surge of people rushing backwards spilled up from the highway.

"Run!" David yelled as a large glob of purple plasma collided with a nearby car, causing it to explode and kill anyone inside.

The family pushed down the highway with the rest of the frantic crowd. Before they could gain any distance more 'tombships' appeared in the sky, the bottom of the ships opening up and spilling out a horde of gangly grey, zombie-like creatures that made a dash for the crowd with an ear-piercing screech.

"What the _hell_ are they?!" Alex gasped in fright as the horde barrelled into the highway and began tearing into the people around them.

"What the fuck...?" Kayla breathed as she watched these creatures rip limbs and chew through flesh of innocent people. Tommy fearfully grabbed her hand.

"Alex, take Kayla and go," David ordered.

"But-!"

" _Now, Alex!_ "

Alex nodded and grabbed Kayla's hand, dragging both her and her terrified brother behind her. Kayla couldn't make sense of it all. What were these creatures? What had humanity done to cause this? _Why_ were they doing this?

Kayla kept running, charging through the crowd and now abandoned cars as the shrieking of these creatures, explosions from turretfire and the screams...she would never forget the tangled mess of throat crushed, twisted, fearful, _terrified_ screams of men, women and children.

Alex, Kayla and Tommy pushed through the crowd, ignoring whoever the trampled in an attempt to get to safety. Soon they came before a tangled mess of crashed, burning cars.

"We've got to get through," Alex said as they came up to it.

"But Mum, what about Dad?" asked Tommy, bravely fighting back tears.

"He's fighting to protect us," Alex lied, knowing full well her husband was probably dead. The ferocity of these creatures was unreal. "Come on, Kayla, you first."

"R-Right!" Kayla said, clambering over the wreckage of the cars, her heart pounding.

"Ok, now bring up Tommy."

Kayla crouched, avoiding the dancing flames from the exposed, simmering engine of the car she was on and lifted her brother over the wreckage. "Stay close to me, Tommy!" Kayla said desperately.

"O-Ok!" Tommy nodded before letting out a blood curdling screaming.

Kayla turned just in time to see her mother get pounced by one of the grey creatures. Alex tried feebly to fend the creature off but the strength of this thing was unreal. All she could do was get her children out of here.

" _RUN!_ " Alex screamed as the creature bit into her throat.

Kayla watched in frozen in fear as her mother's blood splattered on her face, Alex weakly telling Kayla to run once more as the alien back to twist its jaws and digging its long thin claws into her chest.

Still watching her mum's body get pulled apart mercilessly by this creature Kayla grabbed her brother's hand and dashing away from the monster. She could hear Tommy bawling as she dragged him through the frenzied crowd and, although she wanted to do her best to comfort him, Kayla could not stop herself from crying as well. She could still hear the crunching of bones and ripping of flesh clearly in her mind.

Kayla dashed through the crowd, ignoring Tommy's crying. All she could think about was getting to safety. In the frantic escape she could see more and more ships appear, more of those alien creatures descending into the panicking crowds.

Then it dawned on her.

Was this happening everywhere?

Kayla tripped over someone, falling onto the bonnet of a car. She stopped herself with both hands.

Wait, both?

Then where...?

"Tommy?" she said, voice filled with dread. " _TOMMY!_ "

 _K...a!_

Kayla turned and pushed back through the crowd. How could she have lost him? When did she lose him? She had one job left to do and that was to keep Tommy safe. Kayla frantically pushed back through the crowd, screaming desperately for her little brother but the surging mass of people and aliens made the task impossibly difficult. As looked around the crowd had thinned as the aliens gained control of the highway, herding people into small groups to pick off with ease.

 _K...la...!_

And then, in the middle of the road Kayla could see a head of brown hair matted with blood, a small body with its chest ripped open, ribs sticking out and dozens of cuts and lacerations on it. Kayla could gasp in shock and fright as she stared at the lifeless body of her brother as the creatures feasted upon it, a look of sheer terror frozen on his face.

 _Kayla...!_

Kayla couldn't move. She collapsed to her knees, screaming in vain against the horde. She felt one of the creatures barrel into her but at this point she didn't care. Utterly defeated, all Kayla could do was watch as it pulled back its blood drenched claws and snarl.

 _KAYLA!_

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **Old Russia**_

 _ **Cosmodrome, Lunar Complex**_

"Kayla!"

The Warlock found herself back in the Lunar Complex, frozen in fear. Ghost was in front of her face, calling her.

"Kayla, it's the Hive!" he said. "More are upstairs, we can't stay here!"

"It was them..." Kayla croaked out between panicked tears. She looked at Ghost, terrified. "They were the ones who attacked Earth. They were the ones that...oh, God!"

Ghost watched as Kayla broke down, realizing the severity of what had just happened. There were no records of the Collapse but he wouldn't put it past the Hive to at least be partially responsible.

"Kayla, look at me," he said calmly. Kayla stared at him, eyes glazed and whimpering. "I can't begin to understand what you're feeling but if you don't stand and fight we _will_ die here. Understand? So, please, do this for your family, don't let them die in vain!"

Kayla inhaled deeply, shaking. She stood up and swallowed her fears, keeping them down as best she could. With machine-like determination she continued up the Lunar Complex, coming out to a large control centre beneath the old observatory. More Hive swarmed and Kayla fired on them blindly, smacking back the grey ones with her Palm Strikes. Inside she was screaming, wanting to turn and run away, and keep on running until she was far away from this nightmare.

Ghost looked into a large circular room. Floating above the Hive was a medium-sized, feminine Hive. It had no legs and its body was covered in sharp teeth-like protrusions and flowed like a long tattered cloak. Like the others it had thin arms ending in long claws, and its head was horned, with three glowing green eyes and a beaked mouth. Upon seeing Kayla it screamed and fired blasts of electrical Darkness at her. Kayla hissed as it burned through her cloak.

"I got you," Ghost said, healing her. "That's pure Darkness, it'll sting for a while. Just take out the Wizard."

"T-The what?"

"The floaty one."

Kayla nodded and fought off the remaining Hive before focusing on the Wizard. Kayla switched to her Pulsar and steadied her aim, firing burst after burst at the creature. The Wizard screamed as the bullets embedded themselves in its rotting skin, attempting to fly away. Kayla gave chase, dodging Darkness blasts as it flew around the control centre. The Wizard fell to the ground, allowing Kayla to finish it off. The Wizard burst into flames, dissolving into ash and embers.

With the Wizard dead Kayla stumbled onto her hands and knees, throwing off her helmet and retching up vomit. She coughed, half crying as she shook in fear.

Ghost mused to himself. "That Wizard came from the Moon..."

"Really?!" Kayla snapped sarcastically, throwing up again. "That's fucking fantastic!"

Ghost looked at her. "S-Sorry, I er...look, we need to get you back to the City. And we need to see the Speaker about this."


	4. 1-4) Rasputin

**A/N:** I know I played around a bit with the Hive being at the Collapse. But, hey, Oryx was present when the Fallen's world was destroyed. I wouldn't put it past the Hive to be the ones that were the Darkness's muscle for its attack on the Traveller.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _**Destiny**_ is owned by Bungie, Activision and High Moon Studios. I only own Kayla and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 01:** Devils and Kings

 **Chapter 004:** Rasputin

 _ **Earth, Last City**_

Ghost silently flew the ship over the City. It was dusk and the City was aglow with lights. He looked at Kayla. She hadn't said a word since they left the Skywatch. She was deathly pale, her eyes unfocused and, with her gloves off, her hands were bleeding from gripping her gun too hard. The little robot was unsure of what to do. He'd spent so long searching for a Guardian but he'd never taken the time to learn the social structures and cues of the City's society and human's in particular had such peculiar ways of coping. Nevertheless, Ghost knew the best thing to do was approach Kayla in her room, away from everyone else. Judging by the tense atmosphere Kayla was giving off that would be for the best.

The ship docked in the hangar. Kayla left quickly, ignoring anyone that spoke to her and scaring the others away with an angry scowl. Her head was a churning mess of emotions. She didn't know whether she should be angry, upset, sad or afraid. But there was one. It stuck out like a sore thumb. She was lonely. Kayla headed into the Tower, avoiding making eye contact.

"U-Um...should we, er..." Ghost stammered when she stormed past the Hall of Guardians. "Ok, never mind..."

Kayla ran to her room, shutting Ghost out. He teleported in just in time to see Kayla throwing up in the toilet. He fumbled a little. "Are you alright?" he asked, immediately regretting it.

"Do I _look_ alright?!" Kayla snapped, glaring at him with vomit trickling down her chin.

"N-No, that was silly of me..."

"Ohhh, my god...!" Kayla groaned, wiping her mouth and pacing erratically

"I-It's going to be ok."

"No, it's _not gonna be ok!_ " Kayla roared. "I _died!_ 300 years ago, I _died_! Not only that, but I lost my family and friends to those...those _things!_ I don't know anyone here! I have _no one!_ " Kayla flopped backwards on to her bed, sighing. "Do you know what it's like?"

"I can guess," Ghost said quietly. "When Ghosts are...born, if you will, they have one purpose: find a Guardian. We literally cannot do anything else until we do." He floated down to her, hovering over the bed slightly. "I searched 300 years for you, all alone. When I found you wasn't the first time I'd searched the Cosmodrome, you know. It's why I'm so enthusiastic about missions. And why I'm not good at social stuff. I've had no practice."

Kayla looked at him. "300 years? You were alone all that time?"

"More or less. Most of what I know comes from what I've heard in passing. This is a big a change for me as well."

Kayla turned away again. "I'm sorry I yelled."

"I'm sorry I'm not good with this stuff," Ghost said with a small chuckle. "If I'd known, well...if we all knew it was the Hive that invaded during the Collapse..."

"It's not your fault," Kayla said quietly. She jolted upwards in shock when there was a knock at the door. "Can you get that?"

Ghost nodded and flew over to the door. It opened revealing a man in a large white helmet that concealed his entire face. His attire seemed to be a mix of Titan, Warlock and Hunter armour, with a black hood and black gloves, a white robe and grey shoulder guards.

"May I come on?" the man asked in a soft, gentle voice.

"Sp-Speaker?" Ghost spluttered. "Of course!" Ghost moved aside, allowing the Speaker in. Kayla sat up, inspecting the man. He was certainly enigmatic. The Speaker's gaze quickly fell on her.

"You look a little worse for wear, Guardian," the Speaker said.

Kayla looked down. "Bad day."

"We found Hive in the Cosmodrome," Ghost explained.

"I see..." the Speaker said. "This is troubling. The Hive are a frightening first encounter for any Guardian, and yet...I sense there is more. You're the Guardian who was alive during the Collapse, correct?"

Kayla bit her lip and nodded, thinking about her little brother as the Hive tore him open. "The Hive...they were there that day," she croaked out. "They killed us. All of us."

The Speaker nodded in understanding. "Then I see why you look out of sorts." The old man sat down next to her. "I make it my business to meet all our new Guardians once they've settled. Some find it harder than others. But I always say the same thing. You will be frightened. You will be unsure. But never let it overwhelm you. As soon as you doubt your abilities you become a victim to the Darkness. And although the person you were going to be is gone, do not ever forget your past for it is all Guardians have."

Kayla nodded in silence. The Speaker stood and headed for the door. "Please, follow me."

The Speaker led Kayla up to the balcony. It was empty, save for a few Guardians quietly reading in the dim light. The Speaker took her past them up to the northern most tower. It was tall and thin, filled with all manner of books and devices. In front of them was the sleeping form of the Traveller. It saddened Kayla to see it in this state.

The Speaker stared at it before sighing. "The Traveller was a mighty being. We still don't know where it came from or why it chose us. But it made us powerful, more intelligent and accepting. We were ready to step out into the Universe. But that was long ago. Until it wakes..." the Speaker paused and Kayla felt the weight of his duty surround him. "I am the one who speaks for the Traveller."

Kayla looked up at the sleeping god. The Speaker stared with her. "It's a wondrous sight, is it not? You must have so many questions, Guardian. In its dying breath the Traveller created to the Ghosts to find people that can wield the Traveller's Light as a weapon- Guardians- to protect us. To do what it no longer can."

"The Hive attacked Earth," Kayla said. "But...the Traveller saved us, it must have otherwise we wouldn't be here. So...what happened to it?"

The Speaker sighed. "I could tell you of the war fought over the Traveller, the one that crippled it centuries ago. I could tell you of our final stand. I could tell about the power of the Darkness, its ancient enemy.

"...Are you?"

The Speaker gave a faint chuckle. "If I did, would it change anything?"

"I guess not..."

"There were many tales told in the City to frighten our children. But lately the stories have stopped. And the children are frightened anyway."

The three of them stood in silence, the Speaker praying and Kayla contemplating the task that lay ahead of her. After a few minutes the Speaker spoke again, grim and worried. "The Darkness is returning, the Hive you found are proof of that. It lurks beyond the Reef and we will not survive it this time."

"But...what can I do?" Kayla asked.

"You must push back the Darkness," the Speaker replied. "Guardians are fighting on Earth and beyond. Join them in the fight. I know this is not the life you chose, nor is it the life you wanted. But it is your life now. Your ghost will guide you. I just hope he made the right choice."

The Speaker turned and left without a word, leaving Kayla and Ghost with the Traveller.

"I did," Ghost said, more to encourage himself more than anything else. "I'm sure of it." He turned to Kayla. "We're in this together now."

Kayla woke up the next morning and began her morning routine: teeth, shower, hair, breakfast, get dressed. As she sorted out her robe in the mirror Kayla found it hard to accept her armoured reflection. A lump formed in her throat as she buried those thoughts. Kayla sighed and grabbed her guns.

"Sleep well?" Ghost asked, floating up to her.

"Eh...so-so," Kayla replied.

To be truthful Kayla hadn't slept much at all. She kept thinking about the people she'd lost and every time she'd drifted off to sleep it wasn't long before she began dreaming about the Hive. Even now she could hear their shrieks piercing her ears.

A knock on the door broke her out of her trance. She hurried to the door and opened it. On the other side was Delta, smiling at her.

"Hey," he said pleasantly.

"Hey," Kayla said back.

"You look dreadful."

"Eh...I've had worse."

Delta fidgeted a little. "You looked down when you came back. Well, you looked worse than down. Tough mission?"

"Hive."

Delta grimaced. "Ah. I see...how you taking it?"

"Evil space zombies, how do you think?" Kayla said dryly.

"Touché," Delta laughed. "I just thought I'd pop by and thank you for the help the other day. I appreciate it."

"No problem," Kayla smiled.

"Aaand, if you need anything, let me know. I'd be happy to help."

Kayla's face lit up. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

Delta grinned and left. Feeling more confident Kayla grabbed her helmet and headed for the Vanguard. It was strange hearing it from a complete stranger but Kayla was grateful for Delta's offer. Thinking about what the Speaker had said Kayla decided to bury her thoughts about the Hive for another time. She had a second chance at life and she wasn't going to waste it.

The Vanguard met her with varying degrees of frustration, leaving Kayla worried.

"You didn't report in last night," Ikora said.

"Hey, lay off," Cayde said. "You heard what the Speaker said, of course she'll have had other things on her mind." The Exo turned to her. "Ikora gets a little caught up in regulation, don't worry about it."

"Nevertheless," Zavala interrupted. "We appreciate a first encounter with the Hive is difficult, but we will not let you off a second time, is that clear?"

Kayla breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, Commander."

"Good. Now, back to business. Ikora?"

Ikora nodded and handed Kayla a file. "The House of Devils have retreated back to the Devil's Lair, thanks to you slaying their Archon."

"Nice work, by the way," Cayde smiled.

"But we've had reports that the House of Kings are moving near the Skywatch, tearing into machines by the Terrestrial Complex."

"Hmmm," Ghost said. "I'm starting to think they're not looting the place."

"Indeed," Zavala said. "The Devils were the ones doing it, but it seems the Kings have stepped into finish the job. If they're willing to break cover for this then it's important. We need someone to get in there and find out what they're doing, and whether it's a threat to the City."

"Consider it done," Kayla said, heading for her ship.

* * *

 _ **Earth, Old Russia, Cosmodrome**_

Kayla landed in the Steppes, finding it empty. Ghost appeared beside her. "There's a signal coming from the Forgotten Shore," he said. "That's a fair bit away from here. Hmmm..."

"You got an idea?"

"If we can get you a Sparrow, a hoverbike, we can get there faster. We just need to link you up." Ghost thought for a moment. "There's a vehicle grid we can sync with not far from here, near an old transmat station. Hopefully the Fallen haven't got to it yet."

Kayla nodded and set off in the direction Ghost showed her. Her mind kept drifting to the Hive. She was still in disbelief from her encounter in the Lunar Complex. How could a race like that exist? From what she remembered of the Collapse the Hive just...killed. There was no rhyme or reason to it, they just swarmed and ate. But...

"Hey Ghost?" Kayla asked.

"Hm?"

"How did you know that the Hive came from the Moon?"

Ghost sighed. "That's a long story. Bu the sounds of it the Hive were pushed back by the Traveller. But about 150 years ago they returned. The City was on a high and when discovered the Hive on Earth and that they had swarmed the Moon the City chose to fight them off. But we failed. It was called the Great Disaster. The Moon belonged to the Hive ever since."

A shudder went down Kayla's spine. "So we could be invaded at any time?"

"In short, yes," Ghost said. "We've been living in fear of that ever since. But let's not dwell on that."

The pair reached the station after a trek. Ghost scanned the semi-functioning machine before turning and constructing a large hoverbike from hard light.

"And voila!" he said. "Think you can ride it?"

"I had a motorbike, I'll be fine," Kayla said, grinning like a child.

She climbed on the Sparrow, pulled the throttle and zoomed off, giggling with glee. She followed Ghosts directions heading for a small canyon just below the Skywatch, following the trickling river down out to a ruined coast. The Forgotten Shore was exactly that: overgrown and dry with small rock pools dotted around and large crashed cargo ships littered around the coast line. The coast was also home to a large group of Fallen. Kayla figured that, with their gold colour schems, these were the House of Kings. Kayla sped around the ships, destroying the Shanks with her Pulsar before ducking under cover as the Vandals fired on her with deadly accuracy.

"Yeesh!" Kayla yelped as a wire rifle round scraped her helmet. "What the hell, the Fallen were pushovers a week ago!"

Kayla ducked behind some rusted crates, reloading her Pulsar. Ghost appeared beside her. "The Fallen you fought were the House of Devils. They'd already lost their Kell, they were weak. The Kings are a whole different ball game."

"Great," Kayla muttered, firing pot shots at the Kings.

The Fallen fell back, still firing their weapons at Kayla. She ducked to another piece of cover, and old fishing crate, and began firing relentlessly on the Dregs and Vandals. As she weakened the Fallen she began to push further towards the ship they were hiding on. As she got closer an angry Captain roared and fired on her with its launcher. Kayla dived to a gap in the hull.

"Bad news, we're gonna need to get up there," Ghost said.

"How come?" Kayla asked.

"There's a signal amplifier up there," Ghost explained. "The Fallen are using them to hack into something here. If the Kings are using them it must be something valuable."

Kayla grumbled to herself and headed up the ship using stairs from the hull. As soon as she got on deck Kayla was smacked down by the hidden Captain. She grabbed her throbbing head, narrowly dodging a blast from the shrapnel launcher. Swapping to her shotgun Kayla destroyed the Captain's shield. It roared and charged but Kayla kicked it in the stomach, winding it enough to get in two headshots. The Captain collapsed with a dying roar. Kayla prodded it with her foot before standing.

"Right then," she said, looking around, spying an alien looking pylon. It was brown with a wide curved base and a tall spire sticking out of the top. "Well, this just _screams_ alien transmitter, what do you think?"

Ghost chuckled, floatin to the machine and scanned it. "Jeez, this whole construct is so badly put together. I'm surprised it even functions! You know, for machine worshippers, they don't have much technological prowess."

"Maybe it's based on function?" Kayla suggested. "The less important it is, the cruder it's designed?"

"Well..." Ghost said as he hacked the pylon. "The City knows the Servitors are worshipped because they make the ether that sustains them. So you could be on to something. Alright, done."

"Find anything?"

"The Kings are definitely hacking into _something_ ," Ghost replied.

"Real helpful," Kayla said sarcastically.

"It's local, so it's nearby," Ghost elaborated, flying to her. "The signal's a little distorted, but I know it's not Fallen. And get this: the few stable data streams I got from whatever it is the Kings are hacking matches the firewalls I got in the map room before we fought Riksis!"

"Wait, so...are you that we found the same thing as the Fallen have now?"

Ghost nodded, voice oozing with excitement. "Exactly! And, what's more, the House of Kings doesn't do things by half measures, so what we both found has to be very important."

Kayla thought for a moment. "You said you only got some of the dataa?"

"There's another signal amplifier nearby. If I can that I'll be able to pinpoint the source."

"And we can find it before the Fallen," Kayla said, grinning.

"Shouldn't be too difficult," Ghost said confidently.

Ghost headed off with Kayla following behind, leading her up a small cliffside outpost. There were no Fallen around and Kayla assumed that the House of Kings didn't think anyone could make it through.

"Hmm..." Ghost said when they arrived.

"Something wrong?" Kayla asked.

"There's no Fallen," Ghost replied.

"Is that bad?"

"The House of Kings don't do things without reason," Ghost said, his voice low. "They're using us."

Kayla stopped. "Maybe. But if this _does_ benefit the City then surely it's worth the risk?"

Ghost thought about it. "If this backfires I'm blaming you."

Kayla gave a cheeky grin and entered the old military outpost. Hidden away in the corner was another pylon exactly the same as the first. Ghost went to it, hacking it.

"I'd love to know who their transmitting this to," he muttered.

"Their Kell, presumably," Kayla said.

"That's the thing, we don't know anything about the Kings. Draksis is the Winter Kell, Solkis was the Devil Kell. The Kell of Kings only acts through his Barons. No one sees him, the Archon or the Prime for that matter. That's why they're so dangerous." The pylon bleeped, making Ghost giddy. The source of the transmission! It's in the Skywatch!" Kayla frowned, making Ghost stammer. "N-Not with the Hive, though."

"So whereabouts is it?"

"The basement of the Terrestrial Complex. We can reach it from here."

The pair left the outpost and headed back down the coast. Ghost directed Kayla to a large plateau, seeing the steep walls of the Skywatch up ahead and following the mountain road on her Sparrow. They eventually made into the Terrestrial Complex through another car park, finding it in disrepair. Kayla hopped off the Sparrow and headed into the complex, following a crude, rubble-strewn path lined by collapsing rooms and permanently locked doors.

"Just down here," Ghost said, nodding to a sign marked 'generators'.

Kayla nodded, following the stairs down. She came out to a large open room with large fusion generators. They had been abandoned and stripped of parts, now empty husks standing silently in the room. Around them were maintenance walkways and, in the far corner, a large Fallen construct surrounded by Dregs.

"I'm just going out on a whim here," Kayla said. "But I think that's the source of the signal."

"Yeah," Ghost agreed. "Take out the Fallen."

Kayla sneakily made her way between the generators, staying low. The Dregs were busy chattering amongst themselves, scrapping periodically. Keeping to the shadows of a generator Kayla held out her arm, angling a shot. Then she clenched her fist and threw out a Vortex Grenade at the Dregs in one blast.

"Well that was easy," Ghost remarked, flying over to the Fallen device. "They're definitely tapping into the something here."

Suddenly, a loud roar reverberated around the building.

"Something's here!" Kayla shouted.

"Yeah, that'd be my fault," Ghost said apologetically. "I'm stealing everything they've got. You might want to focus, I think it's going to get hectic."

Kayla pulled out her Pulsar. Thankfully the room only had two entrances, both on the right side of the room. Kayla positioned herself on the left walkway, mentally trying to form a plan. A second, louder roar echoed through the room, followed by running footsteps.

Kayla bit her and opened fire on the first Dregs that rushed through the doors. They fell to the ground one after the other, Vandals and Captains stepping over them like they were nothing.

Kayla was sickened. "They're your soldiers!" she yelled in disgust. "How can you just casually ignore them?!"

A Captain roared in response and fired its shrapnel launcher at her. Kayla ducked behind a small railing. Grumbling, she threw out a Vortex Grenade into the crowd and killing off most of the lesser Fallen. Several Vandals rushed her, Kayla pulling out her shotgun and swiftly dispatching them. The Captains stayed back, firing on her with their launchers. Kayla jumped and glided down onto the main floor as more Dregs came, backed up by Shanks and large purple, spherical machines.

"Watch out, they've brought Servitors!" Ghost shouted.

Kayla ducked under the barrage of shock bullets and mortars Using her Pulsar to get rid of the Dregs she soon came face to face with one of the purple machines.

"Guess you're a Servitor," Kayla muttered, hitting it with a Palm Strike.

The Servitor whirred in anger and fired at her. Kayla dodged to the side and fired on it repeatedly with her Scattercast. The machines exploded in a bright light, leaving bits of metal and several glowing seeds on the floor.

The two Captains looked at each other and roared angrily, pulling out their swords and charging Kayla. Kayla dodged as one swiped her, just managing to cut through her chest piece. It took a minute for Kayla to realize it hadn't cut through her skin thankfully and the stunned Kayla fired on the Captain with her shotgun before smacking it with the butt of her gun. The Captain fell and Kayla shot it in the head.

The second Captain snuck up behind her, slashing her back. Kayla screamed in pain, stumbling slightly before gliding away. Fighting through the pain Kayla through another Vortex Grenade at the Captain, weakening it enough to be finished with the Pulsar. Kayla turned and glared at the remaining Servitor. The machine stared back, considering its options and promptly fled. Kayla sighed and stumbled to her knees.

Ghost flew behind her. "Easy, I got you," he said, healing her. "Heh, you've got your first scars!"

"Wonderful," Kayla said sarcastically, walking up to the Fallen automatron. "Did they get anything?"

"No, they kept hitting an active firewall," Ghost said, flying next to her. "Old Russian, wait...of course! How could I have not realized?"

"Uh, slow down, new girl, remember?"

"Sorry," Ghost said, unable to contain his excitement. "There are legends in the City of an old Warmind that survived the Collapse."

"Warmind?" Kayla asked. "You mean the military AIs?"

"Yes! The legend goes that he found the Darkness and went dark, stockpiling weapons to protect the human race in secret. Rasputin, that's his name."

Kayla blinked. "Yeah..." she nodded. "Yeah, I remember that. The UN went into panic when he disappeared. The public was told he'd malfunctioned and shutdown."

"Quite the opposite," Ghost said, scanning the automatron. A beep sounded, followed by a deep male voice speaking Russian and accompanied by classical music. "Rasputin survived!"

"What's he saying?"

"I don't know. But he seems to be trying to access something upstairs. I'm not sure what that is. No wonder the Kings were after him though."

"Wait, why did they need us?" Kayla asked.

"I guess they expected me to hack for them," Ghost said, a faint smugness in his voice. "Instead I stole it all back."

Kayla laughed, gently pushing him. "You sneaky git."

Ghost chuckled. "In any case we should destroy this. Don't want to risk them getting back in."

Kayla nodded and began firing at the machine. It eventually exploded in flames. Satisfied, the pair headed back to the City.

* * *

 _ **Earth, City**_

"Rasputin?!" Zavala repeated in shock.

"The old Warmind?" Cayde asked, thinking. "Huh. I wondered what was in that bunker."

"You _knew?!_ " Zavala asked, astonished.

"No, not really. I was just...passing through."

Zavala glared at the Hunter. Ikora looked at them and cleared her throat. "In any case," she said. "This is a brilliant find. Rasputin's knowledge could help us turn the tide."

"Yeah, that's the problem..." Ghost said. "He doesn't seem to be cooperating. I mean, my Old Russian is a bit rusty, but every time I try to contact him he uses...strong words."

"Nevertheless, well done, Guardian," Zavala said proudly. "The City will prevail. The pair of you may retire for the night."

Kayla nodded and left, heading for one of the Tower's canteens. "Zavala was very...reserved."

"That's just how he is," Ghost said. "But he's the best thing to happen to the City in a long time. He may not say it, but between you and me, I think he's impressed."

Kayla grinned. "Well, I say we should treat ourselves. I hear there's triple caramel fudge cake tonight!"

"You know I can't actually eat, right?"

"That's all right, I'll have your share."

"Hey!"


	5. 1-5) Holdout

**A/N:** Early update. Cos I have up to chapter 16 written and I'm bored.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _**Destiny**_ owned by Bungie, Activision and High Moon Studios. I only own Kayla and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 01:** Devils and Kings

 **Chapter 005:** Holdout

Another week passed and Kayla spent much of her time patrolling the Cosmodrome. The House of Devils were becoming more reckless, but kept themselves centred around the Rocketyard which meant most of Kayla's missions were recon and scrap retrieval. Something that worried the Vanguard, however, was the fact that the House of Kings had expanded territory. The Kings were mostly contained to the old Cosmodrome's control centre, now referred to as King's Watch, but since their hacking into the Terrestrial Complex they had turned the building into an outpost which greatly worried Commander Zavala for many reasons.

The first was due to the House of Kings' secretive nature, anything larger than scouting parties was taken as suspicious and a blatant transfer of troops was considered a threat. The second was the location. According to old reports and array station was hidden in the Complex and, given the Fallen's zealous urge to tear apart anything the find added to the King's secretive actions, the idea of the Fallen in control of the Array was a recipe for trouble.

Kayla had been summoned for the Vanguard shortly after midday. To her surprise they were joined by Arach Jalaal, the leader of Dead Orbit, which made the young Warlock wonder what was going on.

"Kayla," Zavala greeted with a small nod. "This is Arach Jalaal."

"Oh, we've met," Jalaal said with a sneer, earning three glares.

"We've got a situation," Ikora said. "A fireteam from Dead Orbit have gone quiet in the Cosmodrome near the Terrestrial Complex. Given the House of Kings' new presence there we're treating this as urgent."

Kayla stared at Jalaal. "Why can't you send more of your members?"

"We need fresh, unbiased eyes," Jalaal replied. "I can trust you."

"...I saved _one_ of your members..."

"Yes, but I'd rather not lose anymore, thank you."

Kayla blinked. "Youjust think I'm disposable!" she snapped.

"More or less."

"Kayla, hold your temper," Zavala warned sternly when Kayla stepped forward, before turning to Jalaal. "And _you_ know better."

"I would rather she knows her role thoroughly," Jalaal said dismissively. "Kayla, your mission is to find the missing fireteam and return the codes they held.

"Codes?" Ghost asked, appearing beside Kayla. "To what?"

Jalaal looked at them. "The array station, obviously."

Cayde's electronic aqua blue eyes narrowed. "How long have you been sitting on those?"

"Long enough."

"If you have the codes then we should use them to activate that array," Zavala said.

"Well, I must politely refuse," Jalaal smirked.

"You do not have that right," Ikora growled.

Kayla thought quickly, hoping her bluff would work."The array station, it was used to reach the old colonies, right?" she asked. Zavala nodded. "Then... _surely_ it would be in Dead Orbit's interests for the City to be in contact with them. I mean how else would you be able to stay in contact with your members off-planet? I'm sure Dead Orbit can't access them, even with the codes."

Jalaa bit his lip as Cayde chuckled. "Very well, activate the array," he said quickly before leaving.

Nicely played," Cayde laughed after he was out of earshot. Ikora stifled a giggle.

"Guardian," Zavala said, trying to hide his smirk. "You are to find that fireteam and their Ghosts then activate the array."

Kayla nodded and left.

* * *

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **Old Russia**_

 _ **Cosmodrome**_

Kayla found herself in the Cosmodrome once more. There were still no signs of the House of Devils meaning the Steppes were fairly quiet again, save for a few Gaurdian outposts. Kayla headed off in the direction of the Skywatch, hoping for an easy mission.

"Bad news," Ghost said, popping into existence. "We're gonna need to go through that Hive breeding ground again."

Kayla froze, vomit fighting its way up her throat. "Is there no other way?" she asked, forcing the vomit back down.

"'Fraid not."

Kayla groaned and set off to the Lunar Complex, trying her best not to break down in panic. Her fingertips felt like there were on fire and she felt her stomach churn with anxiety. Kayla fought off the rush of thoughts that plagued her mind and tried to focus on getting the job done.

"Oh, boy..." Kayla sighed.

"You'll be alright," Ghost said. "I believe in you."

Kayla smiled at her robot friend. "Thanks, Ghost."

"Pleasure."

Kayla warily entered the Lunar Complex, cautiously making her way through the abandoned building. Aiming down her ironsights and triple-checking every shadowy corner the Warlock eventually made her way to the shutters.

"Ah..." Ghost said when they found it open. "That's not good..."

"No..." Kayla said, briefly lowering her weapon. "It's not."

"We were getting reports of Hive spilling onto the surface," Ghost said. "But you killed all of them here, didn't you?"

"I thought I did," Kayla said, slowly making her way inside.

Panic set in as Kayla made her way up the stairs. The Hive had caught her off guard before, but Kayla felt prepared for them this time. A little, anyway. Cautiously Kayla moved up to the upper levels of the Lunar Complex. To her surprise the Hive weren't there. The only thing that remained was the smell and a lingering sense of dread.

"Where are they?" Kayla asked as she reached the top floor.

A loud roar came in response. Instead of Hive it was Fallen from the House of Kings. Kayla ducked down behind a railing as the Fallen opened fire. Ghost appeared beside her. "I think they're still mad about the other day."

"What gave you that idea?" Kayla asked sarcastically.

She threw out a Vortex Grenade into the fray in hopes of clearing out the lesser Fallen. The Fallen scattered but not before a handful of them were killed. "Do you know what'd be really cool?" Kayla asked Ghost over gunfire. "If it made them explode."

Ghost merely laughed as Kayla picked off the Dregs and Vandals, moving swiftly through the room, dancing around the Arc rounds. A horde of Dregs rushed her forcing Kayla to glide off and throw another Vortex Grenade at them. The Dregs collapsed, dead, as Kayla landed and charged with the remaining Vandals with her Scattercast. With the foot soldiers dead Kayla moved into the abandoned control room and swiftly took out the Captain leading them. As the Captain fell to the ground, Kayla sighed.

"What's wrong?" Ghost asked.

"I don't know how I'm going to get used to this," Kayla replied, resting against a wall for a moment.

"Get used to what?"

"The killing."

"Oh..."

"I should be saving lives, not taking them..."

Ghost hesitated, then flew to his friend. "You'll still be saving lives. Doing what you're doing _is_ saving lives."

Kayla chuckled sadly. "I appreciate the thought, but..." she sighed. "It's all different now. There were no wars in my time. And certainly nothing like this."

"Maybe you can talk to Delta?" Ghost suggested. "I'm sure he'd have some tips."

"Maybe..." Kayla looked down the eerily quiet corridor. "Welp. Best stop moping around. Through there?"

"Yeah, the Terrestrial Complex is just on the side of the plateau."

Kayla pushed herself off the wall and walked down the corridor. As she made her way to the exit she could hear the sounds of gunfire filling the air. Kayla rushed out on to the plateau, immediately taking cover to avoid a Fallen grenade. Warring on the plateau were the House of Kings and the Hive. While the Fallen were holding the Terrestrial Complex the Hive seemed to be coming from the Jovian Complex. Kayla noticed the Jovian Complex was partially collapsed due to a large needle-like ship the size of a building half buried in it.

"Oh, no!" Ghost said in horror as he stared at the needle.

"What? What is it?" Kayla asked, trying not to panic.

"That's a Hive Seeder!" Ghost said. "They're designed to bury underground and release Hive when the larvae they carry mature. That's why there was a surge in Hive activity, it's coming from that! This is bad!"

"Something tells me we're gonna have to go through... _that_ ," Kayla said, pointing to the battle and dreading the response.

"Yeah," Ghost said apologetically. "We are."

Kayla looked at the battle and swallowed some of the sick feeling in the pit of her sotmach. Kayla took off at a run. She hoped that the Hive and the Fallen would be too busy fighting each other to notice her. To a degree she was right as the Fallen were too distracted to deal with her. Kayla quickly took down any Dregs and Vandals in her way, ducking under the sword of an angry Captain that strayed too close. She powered up the hill, praying that she could make it. As she closed on the entrance she felt something grab her ankle. A cold shiver flew up her spine as she was assaulted by images of her brother. Kayla turned and fired relentlessly. The Thrall that had grabbed her whined in pain as it died. Shocked, Kayla slowly backed her way into the Terrestrial Complex. When she reached the interior forced one of the rusted doors shut, panting heavily.

" _Fuck!_ " she yelled, punching the door.

"Uhm...you know...I hear breathing slowly helps?" Ghost suggested, flying up to her. "Come on. In..." Kayla breathed in slowly. Ghost nodded in approval. "And out."

Kayla exhaled slowly. They repeated this for several minutes, blocking out the noises outside, until Kayla leaned against the door and sighed heavily. "Do you think they'll get through here?" she asked.

"Probably," Ghost replied. "That door doesn't look very secure anymore. But the Fallen and the Hive are too busy fighting each other to deal with us. How are you taking it?"

"I'm not," Kayla chuckled. "But I have a job to do and.."

Kayla trailed off when she noticed a leg sticking out of the inner doorway. She motioned for Ghost to keep quiet as she slowly made her to the body, pulse rifle ready. She rounded the corner, gasping when she saw a Guardian lying in a pool of blood.

"Oh, Jesus...!" Kayla gasped, dropping her gun and taking off the Guardian's helmet.

The Guardian's, a woman, long red hair sprawled across the floor, quickly becoming matted with blood as Kayla checked for a pulse. She sighed, shaking her head. It wasn't until then that she noticed two more corpses sprawled across the room. Ghost opened a comm to the Tower.

"Zavala," he said solenmly. "You can tell Jalaal...we've found his fireteam."

"I see..." Zavala answered grimly. "I'll report this to him. Concentrate on getting that array online."

Ghost nodded and signed off, flying to Kayla. "Hey."

"Hey..." she sighed. "Back...in my old life, my teacher said the hardest part of being a doctor is failing to save someone's life. I never quite understood what he meant then."

"They won't have died in vain," Ghost said. "We can still activate the array. Look..." he motioned to a small ghost on the ground. "I can download the codes from it."

Kayla picked up the ghost. "Is it...?"

"Yeah," Ghost said solmenly.

"Ghosts can... _die?_ "

"Under the right circumstances. It's the only way to permanently kill a Guardian too."

Kayl swallowed hard as Ghost scanned the dead robots. The concept of Ghost being able to die had left her slightly stunned. The ghosts, she thought, were indestructible and the Guardians immortal. And yet here they were, standing in a room with three dead Guardians. Suddenly Kayla was acutely aware of her own mortality.

"Will I...?" Kayla asked hesitantly.

"We're not going down that road," Ghost said sharply. "I need you to focus on our job."

"Just tell me, Ghost," Kayla growled. "How vulnerable am I?"

Ghost sighed. "The Vanguard has the highest casualty rate among newer, inexperienced Guardians. Even then there's always a risk we can be killed anytime."

Kayla nodded silently. She wasn't pleased with the answer, but she appreciated Ghost's honesty. She smirked. "So...you're like my soul jar?"

"If you want."

Kayla laughed a little. "Did you get the array codes?"

"Mhmm," Ghost nodded. "The array station is just up ahead."

Ghost disappeared and Kayla set off through the dilapidated corridors. She eventually came out to a large balcony that overlooked a steep valley. Around her were tall mountain ranges that stretched as far as the eye could see. And it was cold.

Kayla shivered as she walked around the balcony, looking at the long abandoned storage crates. At the edge, built into the rock, were large cylinders. Ghost flew over them. "This must be the array," he said. "The control room is just up ahead. We're gonna have to deal with the Fallen once we activate it."

Kayla nodded and headed up the stairway into the large control centre. The room was empty and filled mostly with broken computers, apart from one at the very end of the room. Kayla walked to the bright screen. Most of the language was in Russian and the sound of Beethoven filled the room.

"Better give him what he wants," Kayla said.

Ghost nodded and inputted the codes into the Rasputin controlled computer. A large rumble shook the room, followed by the expulsion of gas and the creaking of long underused mechanisms and hydraulics. Kayla and Ghost watched in the doorway to the control centre, marvelling at the array as it slowly opened up, satellite dishes rising and unfurling like flowering petals.

"The array...it's working!" Ghost gasped. "I can't believe it, this is...it's...oh, that's not good..."

 **(The Last Array- Destiny OST)**

Kayla frowned at Ghost's sudden change in tone. "What's wrong?"

"I'm picking up ships coming down to us...they must be here for the array."

Kayla readied herself for the familiar shape of Fallen skiffs. But the skiffs never came. Instead two ruptures opened in the sky and silently flying out came two glowing, sarcophagus-like ships.

"That's not Fallen..." Kayla said.

"No...Those are Hive tombships!" Ghost shouted. "Kayla, you've got to hold this position." He turned to his Guardian, seeing her frozen with fear as the Hive descended. "Kayla?"

Kayla stared at the oncoming swarm, trying to will her body to move, to fight. But it refused. Every inch of her being was taken back to _that_ day.

 _This is it_ , she thought. _I can't..._

Then Ghost electrocuted her.

"What the hell?!" Kayla yelled in fright.

"We can't let them get Rasputin!" Ghost told her. "Now _move!_ "

"Oh...right," Kayla said, coming back to her senses.

Can't let them get Rasputin. That was all that was in Kayla's mind right now as the Hive charged her. First were the thin, eyeless creatures. They were always the first it seemed and Kayla easily dispatched them with her shotgun. It didn't stop them from slashing her armour though, but thankfully Kayla had more freedom to move than her initial encounter in the Lunar Complex. Still, Kayla was unsure of the Hive's tactics and spent several minutes thinning out the grey ones.

The Hive seemed to be focused on her for the time being and Kayla led the creatures away from Rasputin, all the while firing her Scattercast at them. She couldn't understand it though. The grey Hive attacked with relentless fury, almost obsession but they refused to dodge the rounds. Kayla growled, gliding slightly to the right and throwing out a Vortex Grenade at the swarm. With the grey Hive down, Kayla could focus on the bulkier ones. These Hive were a little smarter than the other and kept to cover. Kayla backed off, adrenaline keeping the rising tide of anxiety at bay. She switched to her Pulsar and started picking the Hive's foot soldiers off one by one.

As they fell two Wizards came out of nowhere and started to assault her with bolts of darkness. Kayla ducked behind a pillar, narrowly missing a blast of darkness. She couldn't help but wonder what drove the Hive to attack as fiercely as they did. This was different from the Fallen, this was.. _hateful_. How could you fight an enemy fuelled by hate? Kayla swallowed and thre out another Vortex Grenade between the two Wizards. They separated and Kayla charged one of them with her Scattercast, killing it in four swift blows. Then she whipped out her Pulsar and opened fire on the remaining Wizard. The Wizard tried to flee but Kayla gave chase, finally killing the Wizard by the array itself. Catching her breath Kayla watched in horror as a third tombship arrived. More Hive piled out and charged her, Kayla killed them with swift, clean headshots. Her heart raced at a thousand miles per hour as a sickly feeling of dread worked its way up her throat.

Kayla kept fighting, taking down the grey Hive one after the other. All that remained was a large, menacing and muscular Hive. It roared, drawing sword from its back. Kayla panicked as it charged with frightening speed. Before Kayla had a chance to move the large Hive had closed the gap and swung down hard with sword. Kayla managed to pierce her right arm, leaving a deep slash down it.

She screamed in agony, dropping her weapons in shock, making the Hive laugh cruelly. This pain was different. It stung and burned with horrific intensity, nearly enough to make Kayla faint and, to top it off, it felt like the sword physically drained her of energy.

Kayla grit her teeth, groaning as she wearily picked up her shotgun and fired. The stunned Hive grunted, clutching its stomach. Kayla fired again, this time in the head. The Hive collapsed, dead. Ghost flew up to Kayla immediately tending to her arm. He looked at Kayla who was panting raggedly. Although he doubted she was aware of it Kayla was shaking like a leaf, watching anxiously as the three tombships left through the portals they came from. When they closed Kayla let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Hey," Ghost said. "You did it."

"I feel like shit," Kayla groaned.

"I can tell. But look: you stopped them getting Rasputin. He isn't as cuddly or personable as I am. In fact, I have no idea what his motives are. He looked us out of the arrays...I don't know why."

"What's he doing?" Kayla asked groggily.

"I think he's connecting to the other colonies," Ghost replied. "Venus, the Moon, Mars...it's all being unlocked after all these years. There might be something out there that can help us stop the Darkness."

"Woo! That's great," Kayla said tiredly, swaying slightly. "I think I'm gonna..."

Ghost turned. "Kayla?" he asked, gasping. "Kayla!"

Ghost flew to her as she fell face first onto the floor. Kayla had blacked out.


	6. 1-6) First Strike

**A/N:** Two updates? In a week?! D:

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _**Destiny**_ is owned by Bungie, Activision and High Moon Studios. I only own Kayla, Delta and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 01:** Devils and Kings

 **Chapter 006:** First Strike

Kayla woke up, groaning. Her head was spinning and her vision clouded. As she sat up and stretched she realized she was back in her old room. The same rock band posters, the same purple walls, the same anime and gaming merchandise. Kayla frowned, confused. Looking around, she quickly switched on the TV. On the screen was a news report about the Warmind, Rasputin, going silent but the news reporter quickly changed to a report about a bizarre anomaly detected outside the Solar System. Kayla shook her head and changed the channel to a programme about Mercury's fruit harvests.

Bursting through the door was her little brother. He was giddy, bouncing up and down with excitement. "Sis! Sis! Aren't you up yet?" he asked.

"W-wha...Tommy...?" Kayla stammered.

"We're going to Ishtar, remember?"

Ishtar? Yes...that's what they were doing. All that nonsense of the City, the Fallen, the space zombies...It was all a dream. It had to be. How could the Golden Age have come to an end?

"Hey, sweetie," Kayla's mum said, walking in, followed by her father. "Now's not the time to sleep, you've got a big day ahead of you."

Kayla frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Now, now, let's not ruin the surprise," her dad smiled.

"I don't think she deserves it," Tommy whined.

Kayla felt her left eye twitch. Something's wrong. Something inside her was screaming that this was all wrong. She glanced at the TV screen. Damn remote flicked it back to the news report about the anomaly. Wait, did it say it had ravaged Europa?

"And why's that?" her mum asked, bringing Kayla out of it.

"Because it's her fault!" her brother snapped, large, deep cuts appearing over his face. "She didn't save us! Why does she get to live and we didn't?!"

Kayla watched as Tommy started to twist and contort, the cracking of his bones freezing in place. Kayla felt a lump in her throat as her parents started to drip blood from their abdomens, large patches spreading across their clothes. Kayla watched in horror as her mother's skin became cracked and pale, claws tearing through the tips of her fingers. Tommy's legs continued to crack as he grew taller, matching Kayla in height. Screaming, the boy was forced to hunch over as his spine contorted. Kayla could only watch in horror as her father's eyes were forced and fused shut, a large thick armour piece of bone cover his upper head while has jaw elongated, filling with dozens of razor sharp teeth, all gnashing for Kayla. All the while the news report, eerily calm, talked casually about the Darkness ravaging Its way across Mars.

"N-no..." Kayla whimpered, frozen in fear.

"Why didn't save us?" her father asked in a husky voice. Or was it her mother. They all looked the same.

" _WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE US?!_ " they all screamed as they lunged at her.

Kayla screamed until throat was roar, kicking and punching at the Hive that surrounded her. She felt something grab her arms, trying to pin her down. She reached for her gun, but couldn't find it. Desperate to fend off her attacker, she bit down hard on its neck.

"Ahow!, You bitch, Kayla!" came a voice she recognized.

Kayla's breathing slowed, her eyes focused. Kayla at the blonde Awoken holding her.

"Delta?" she asked.

"Are you alright," the Awoken asked, concerned.

"What...what happened?" Kayla questioned, sitting up.

"You fainted at the Terrestrial Complex," Delta replied with a heavy sigh. "You've been out for a day."

"Oh..." Kayla said, memories of the firefight slowly coming back to her. "Oh."

"You sounded like you were having a nightmare."

Kayla forced some bile down her throat, shaking her head. "Doesn't matter."

"I think it does," Delta insisted as Sal floated up to him.

"I-Is she ok now?" the ghost asked timidly.

Kayla looked down, thinking about the Hive she encountered. She knew she couldn't avoid the Hive forever and thinking about her family only made the situation worse. It wasn't anger she felt over their deaths it was something, something that tore deep into her chest like a knife through butter. Kayla slowly glanced at Delta.

"The Hive killed my family that day," she said grimly. "Ripped them apart. Right in front of me."

Delta didn't even bat an eyelid at that. Instead he pulled up a chair and sat in it. "You feel guilty. You're asking yourself why he..." Delta motioned to Ghost, who was sleeping next to a plant pot. "...Got you and not one of them."

Kayla nodded. "They pulled apart my brother's spine. He was only nine years old."

Delta grimaced as Kayla explained in vivid detail what had happened. It didn't take long for Delta to realize that this memory was engraved into her mind and at the heart of everything she did now, the shock of the trauma causing the memory to linger in her dead mind and being revived alongside her. When she had finished the pair sat in silence, Kayla mulling over things while Delta thought about what to do. After a few minutes Delta stood up and turned to her.

"Tell you what," he said. "Once you're out of here come find me. I have a technique that might help with the panic attacks."

Kayla raised an eyebrow. "And this... 'technique' involves?"

"Meditating."

"You meditate?"

Delta nodded. "Yeah, and it helped me when I was in your position."

Kayla stared at him, wondering what Delta had meant by that. Finally she laid back. "Alright then. Meditation it is."

Delta grinned. "Great! Come on, Sal, we'd best get going."

Sal perked and blinked. "O-Ok!"

Delta left with Sal flying after him. The unexpected slam of the door caused Ghost to stir.

"Huh? What did I miss?" he asked groggily. Kayla just shook her head a chuckled.

It wasn't until evening when the doctors decided Kayla was stable enough to leave. After eating and a quick shower Kayla set off to find Delta, where she quickly found out that news of her fight at the Terrestrial Complex had spread around the Tower like wildfire. As she searched for her friend Kayla was bombarded with questions about the Hive and the legendary Rasputin, followed by more questions about Riksis' death.

"People still haven't forgotten that?" Kayla asked Ghost after being hounded yet again over Riksis.

"No. Like I said, it's unheard of," Ghost said, voice raising with excitement. "And then you found Rasputin. And _then_ you opened the array!"

Kayla groaned. "I hate all this attention."

"You were a doctor; you should be used to it!"

"Shush, you."

After a few hours wandering around the Tower Kayla found Delta's room nestled somewhere in Dead Orbit's quarters. Kayla fumbled outside the door for ten minutes before plucking up the courage to knock. The door opened quietly, Delta's head popping out and smiling.

"You came," he grinned.

Kayla shrugged. "You said you'd help."

Delta nodded and let her in. She was surprised at the sereneness of the place. Most of the Titans she had encountered, however brief, we very headstrong and, mostly, thought with their fists. Yet Delta's room gave a presence of calm. Relaxing music filled her ears, sweet smelling plants were everywhere and the room was bathed in a calming atmosphere.

"What do you think?" Delta asked.

"I like it," Kayla replied. "Very 'zen'. Aw, cool! You have a fountain?!" Kayla hurried over to a small table in the centre of the room, inspecting the pebble-like fountain in the middle. "I want a fountain..."

Delta chuckled and sat on the sofa. "So. The Hive."

Kayla felt a shiver down her spine at the mention of the name. "What about them?"

"What do you know about them?"

"They smell. They like to eat. And they're pure evil."

Delta nodded. "You're right in that respect, but I meant the types?" he elaborated. Kayla shook her head. Delta nodded slightly, thinking. "Well, unlike most Titans, I make a point to know what I'm fighting. First of all..."

Kayla sat, listening intently as Delta listed off the different types of Hive. The grey ones were known as Thralls and made up the bulk of the Hive's army. They were almost a kind of laval stage and those that survived would become Acolytes. These provided support Thralls in war. The Acolytes would become large, hulking Knights or flying frail Wizards like the one in the Lunar Complex. Hive also had a strange ritual to create Ogres; large walking deformities of flesh and teeth that were designed purely for destruction.

"But that's not the scariest thing," Delta continued. "The Hive view their genocidal campaign as a crusade. I don't know why, but the Hive will kill anything too weak to survive them because they honestly believe that they should."

Kayla sat there in silence her body numb. "How can something like that exist?"

"That I don't know. You'd have to ask another Warlock. They don't like Titans in their libraries."

Ghost appeared beside them both. "So...what do you have to help Kayla."

Delta blinked. "...Oh, right! Right! Bear with me."

* * *

 _ **Later...**_

The room was dimly lit and sounds of nature filled the ambience. Kayla and Delta were sat cross legged in the middle of the room, Kayla listening intently to the sounds coming from speaker system. It reminded her of happy times visiting zoos or her extended family on Venus. She almost felt like a child again, about to step through a dark haze to safety. The weight of her armour reminded her otherwise.

"Tell me what you saw, Kayla," Delta said. "Tell me about the Collapse."

Kayla looked deep into her mind, pulling out that swirling void of pain in her subconscious "We were outside the Cosmodrome...I was arguing with my brother when these...tombships came out of the sky...the Hive came down and started...just... _tearing_ at everyone...we tried to escape and...and...!"

"Hold on to that thought," Delta said calmly. "Now I want you to image that memory as a large orb. Can you do that?"

Kayla focused, mentally breaking down the bad memories and crushing them into a large glass orb. I was freezing yet burned to the touch, filling Kayla with a sense of dread. "What now?" she asked.

"Imagine a large door, like the one that leads to a vault."

Kayla did so, imagining a large, thick steel door wide open in her mind. It was littered with several magnetic and hydraulic locks. Kayla nodded when she'd finished.

"Now put the orb in the door, close it and lock it.

Kayla nodded again, rolling the orb into the inky gloom behind the door. With great effort she pushed the steel door shut, hearing a click and the whirs of hydraulics. She unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a huge weight lift from her shoulders.

"Now open your eyes."

Kayla blinked her eyes open and looked around. "My head's stopped hurting."

Delta smiled warmly. "If you ever fight the Hive and are reminded of anything just put it behind that door. Now. I have a request, but keep this secret until tomorrow."

Kayla looked at him, confused. "Um..."

"The Vanguard are planning to assault the Devil's Lair tomorrow and kill Sepiks Prime," Delta said with a cheeky grin. "But we need a third member. If you get to the Vanguard early enough then they'd probably consider it."

"But what about my fainting? How do you know I can do it?"

"Everyone has teething problems when they start. As long as you convince Zavala you can do it, well...you'll be the noob that took out Archon Riksis and Sepiks Prime in the space of a month."

"You have that much faith in me?" Kayla asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I know talent when I see it."

* * *

 _ **The next morning**_

Kayla and Ghost were up well before the alarm, hanging around the Hall of Guardians waiting for the Vanguard. While Kayla browsed the trophy cabinet Ghost was looking up information on Sepiks Prime. As he read to himself he burst out laughing.

"What is it?" Kayla asked, staring at Riksis' helmet.

"The Prime Servitors, their 'gods'...they're just hyperadvanced Frames!"

Kayla stood up. "Meaning?"

"They're on the level of an early 21st Century supercomputer," Ghost replied with a chuckled. "Even Rasputin is more advanced!"

"And that's funny to you?" Kayla smirked.

"Well, considering how powerful Sepiks Prime is meant to be, yes, I'd say it is. I'd be happy to see this 'deity' put on the scrap pile."

"Why are you researching Sepiks Prime?" said a male voice from the doorway.

The pair jumped slightly, Kayla knocking Riksis' helmet a little. Steadying it she turned and grinned sheepishly at Commander Zavala. The head of the Vanguard was walking up to them, a wry look of curiosity on his face. "I'm surprised to see a Guardian in here so early," he said maintaining his composure. "What's the occasion?"

Kayla looked at him, reduced to a bag of nerves in front of the Commander. "I-I...I wanted to request being put forward for the strike on Sepiks Prime," she managed to stammer out.

Zavala looked at her, slightly taken aback. However, he couldn't help but smile. "...Do you honestly believe you are ready for that?"

"I want to show that, despite my problems with the Hive, I can be a valuable Guardian for the City," Kayla said, marginally more confident this time.

"Sepiks Prime is unlike anything you have faced before," Zavala warned. "How do you know you can handle it?"

Kayla's face faltered. "Truthfully...I don't. But I have faith in myself and in Ghost, and my teammates. And I know I won't have another shot at proving I can do this."

Zavala stood, unfazed, going over the thought in his head. After several minutes he agreed and ordered Kayla to wait in the Hall of Guardians for Delta and an Exo named Adam-11.

After a couple of hours of preparation the team headed out to the Cosmodrome. Kayla felt butterflies in her stomach and a tingling sensation in her arms. The anticipation filled her with dread but the dread fuelled her with much needed adrenaline. She was excited to be working with Delta as part of a team as patrols and scavenging missions had ended up quite lonely affairs. She couldn't say the same about Adam though.

Adam was also a relatively fresh Warlock, having only been with the Tower for a year. However his successes had made him arrogant and the Exo loved to rub Kayla's fears in her face. The Exo was outfitted in a long grey robe adorned with a brown belt and a few pouches, an orange helmet adorned with a dorsal fin-like appendage, white gloves with camo coloured boots and pants with a single red shoulder guard on his left shoulder.

"We'll be setting down in the Rocketyard," Adam said as the three ships approached the Cosmodrome, having made himself the trio's leader. "There's gonna be Hive there, so let Delta an' me handle it. Your fainting will only slow us down."

"Adam," Delta said sternly.

"No, no," Kayla said sweetly. "Wouldn't want you to exert all that arrogance on the space zombies, would we?"

Adam huffed over the comms. "Just don't slow us down," Adam replied tersely.

The Rocketyard was essentially an old repair yard. Among the giant rusted building were ripped open shipping containers that the Fallen in the area had presumably already looted. Skeletons of workers littered the area and a large, toppled over freight train dominated the yard. Fallen from the House of Devils were already there, Kayla assuming they were the advance guard for the Lair.

The team took care of them with relative ease, pushing past a few buildings. They soon came across a large towering command centre that stood quietly in the corner. Kayla paused, inspecting the building. It was out of the way and easily missed, but Kayla noticed that there were no battle marks with a twenty metre radius of the entrance.

"Delta...what's that?" Kayla said, motioning to the entrance.

"King's Watch is the unofficial designation," Delta replied. "It's the main outpost for the House of Kings here."

"Hey!" Adam yelled from the bottom of a hill. "You can take the scenic tour later!"

"We're coming, hang on!" Kayla snapped, heading off into collapsed refinery.

"This is where the said the entrance would be," Delta said at a small doorway, hearing the faint sounds of gunfire in the distance.

"I'm picking up life signs," Ghost said. "Fallen and Hive."

"Oh, an' the sound of gunfire didn't give that away?" Adam scoffed, rushing with his auto rifle.

The refinery was initially a maze of rusted metal corridors, the smell of oil and leaked petrol still fresh after all these years. After making their way through the network of gangways and sealed rooms they came out to a large expansive train shed. Train carts were scattered all over, with several gangways snaking their way above them. On one end was a Fallen outpost, being defended by Dregs and Vandals while on the other was an entrance to a cave system out of which swarmed the Hive.

"Ah! Finally, some targets!" Adam grinned, jumping into the fray.

"Adam, wait!" Delta yelled as the Exo began mowing down Thrall. "Frigging... _idiot!_ You go help him, I'll cover you!"

Kayla nodded and rushed in to help Adam, swiftly taking down Acolytes and Thrall with her Pulsar while Delta took out the bigger Hive with his Suros WSC-17. As the trio took out the Hive Kayla noticed that Delta teachings was working. Her heart was racing but the sick feeling in her stomach was barely there. For the first time Kayla felt like she could handle herself.

"Hey, Kayla!" Adam yelled. "Wanna see what a _real_ Warlock fights like?"

Without waiting for answer, Adam leaped into the air, levitating as a loud bolt of electricity shot down into the ground empowering Adam and kill whatever was in his immediate radius. Loud, crackling electricity surrounded him while bolts of electricity pulsed out of his hands. Adam rushed into a squad of Fallen, bolts of lightning shooting out of his finger tips and viciously shocking the giant insectoids to death, each one collapsing with a horrifying shriek.

Kayla grunted, annoyed that Adam seemed to enjoy causing the Fallen pain. She angrily blasted a Thrall down with her shotgun, becoming even more annoyed when that didn't make her feel any better.

When the warring Fallen and Hive were defeated Delta regrouped with a visibly annoyed Kayla and a smug Adam.

"What's wrong?" Adam asked.

"What you did was overkill!" Kayla snapped.

"What? With the Fallen?" Adam asked incredulously with a laugh. "Don't tell me you feel sorry for 'em?"

"And if I do?"

"Then you're stupider than I thought."

"Adam, enough," Delta warned.

"Oh, come on!" the Exo protested. "I mean, how can _you_ kill Riksis if you sympathise with 'em?!"

Kayla glared at Adam through her helmet. "Tell me, do you remember your old life?"

"What does that matter?"

"Just answer the damn question, will you?"

"...No, I don't."

Kayla scoffed. "Well, I _do_. I remember my brother and my parents, and that when I was alive I was working towards a medical degree so I could become a doctor. I was daughter and a sister. Now I'm neither of them, but I'm _still_ a doctor. So forgive me if I don't like killing them."

"Sorry, but doctors aren't worth as much as soldiers these days," Adam spat but begrudgingly backing down after. Kayla headed to a small rusted corridor off to the side of the refinery. If her hunch was right this was the way to the Devil's Lair, however, the Fallen had blocked with a tangled mesh of lasers.

"Damn it," Kayla muttered.

"What is it?" Delta asked.

Ghost appeared beside Kayla. "This looks like the way to the Devil's Lair. But I don't think it'd be a good idea for us to walk through that."

Adam sauntered over, picking a small rock. He threw it had at the centre of the web of lasers. It sparked and disintegrated on contact. Adam huffed. "Looks like your ghost is right."

"Ooh, ooh!" Sal said excitedly from a nearby Fallen device. "I think this can turn it off!"

Delta ran up to her, inspecting the machine. "It's worth a shot," he said. "Good work, Sal."

Sal span happily and began to hack the machine, humming to herself. While they let Sal work the trio gathered for a small conversation, one that Kayla was reluctant to be part of.

"So...Any ideas on how to beat Sepiks Prime?" Delta asked.

"Open suppressive fire on it from this," Adam said, pulling out a camo covered heavy machine gun. "Meet the Nihilist CSc. Aggressive ballistics. Field choke, an' high calibre rounds. It'll rip Sepiks to shreds before the damn Prime will realize we're here."

"Who's to say it won't teleport?" Kayla asked.

Adam made a face. "What do you mean 'teleport'?"

"Sepiks Prime. It can teleport," Kayla repeated with emphasis. "Like it said in Ikora's report?"

"Didn't read it."

"...How do you just _not_ read the intel we have on our target?!" Kayla shouted in frustration. "You should have been a Titan!...No offence, Delta."

"None taken," Delta said.

"Look," Adam started. "If you two can do a simple thing an' keep it from attacking me, I can kill it easy enough."

"And how do you expect us to do that when the bloody thing _can teleport?!_ " Kayla roared.

"Think of something."

Kayla stood there, stunned. She clenched her fist and swung for him "...I'm gonna fucking...!"

"Easy! Kayla," Ghost said, flying in front of her, his voice calm with hint of sternness. "Let's not cause any infighting." He turned to Adam. "Ok?"

Adam grumbled to himself, quietening down much to Kayla's relief. The trio stood there in silence, Adam glaring at Kayla, Kayla with her arms folded watching Sal, and Delta stuck in the middle.

"I really hope I'm wrong about you, Adam," Kayla sighed after a moment. The Exo didn't reply.

The tense silence was suddenly broken by the sound of blaring alarms. All eyes turned to Sal, who was shaking above the machine.

"I-I tried to, b-but the Fallen...they had a failsafe!" she stammered.

"They must have got cleverer," Ghost mused. "I'll help Sal, you three hold this position."

The Guardians nodded and pulled out their weapons as a large swarm of Devils descended on the refinery. Roars and shrieks came as they on the Guardians en masse. Kayla ducked behind the machine, narrowly avoiding the shock round of the Dreg's pistol. Adam was the first to enter the fray, mowing down the Fallen with his Sahara-AR3. It was no lie Adam was a capable fighter, but Kayla worried that his recklessness was going to get him killed one day. She watched, covering him from afar with her Pulsar and taking down any Vandals that got too close, failing to notice a Captain charge her.

"Watch out!" Delta yelled, rushing to her.

Kayla's head snapped up just in time to see the Captain's swords come down on her. She rolled out of the way in the nick of time to see Delta literally punch the Captain's shield off. The Captain teleported back slightly and pulled out a Shrapnel Launcher. It immediately began firing on the pair but Delta threw up a purple shield of light around them both. Kayla's heart raced as she held her breath, watching the shrapnel rounds bounce off the shield. The shield collapsed when Delta pulled out a large brown, boxy rocket launcher. Smirking as the Captain slumped in disbelief, Delta fired at it turning the Captain into a bloodied mess on the floor.

"Nice Jester," Kayla said in relief as she stood.

"Thanks," Delta chuckled with a wink, trading his launcher for a small white pistol and popping off the heads of the Fallen. Kayla backed him up with her pulse rifle and between the pair of them and Adam, the Fallen were beginning to thin out.

"Adam? Delta?" Kayla yelled, an idea popping into her head.

"What?!" Adam snapped. "I'm busy!"

"Help me lead them to the centre!"

"Why?!"

"Just... _humour me!_ "

Adam groaned and changed his tactics, firing into the swarm and successfully herding them back. Kayla covered the two ghosts and fired at the Fallen with the Pulsar, focusing on pushing them together instead of killing them. Delta didn't know what the young Warlock was up to but he trusted her enough to try out her plan. With his SUROS the Titan scared the Fallen into the middle of the collapsed refinery. Kayla watched out of the corner of her eyes as the Fallen huddled together she waited a few more seconds, waiting for the opportune moment.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Delta said hesitantly.

"Trust me!" Kayla shouted at the thunderous sounds of gunfire.

"Kayla!" Adam snapped, panicking slightly.

"Wait!"

She felt Adam's glare as she checked off the Fallen. Kayla nodded to herself, yelling. "Grenades, _now!_ "

Delta's eyes lit up as he threw his Spike Grenade, a flurry of purple flames swirling beneath the feet of the Fallen. Adam could only laugh as he threw his Arcbolt, bolts of lightning chaining the Fallen in place and electrocuting them. Kayla chuckled and added a Vortex Grenade to the mix, watching bodies of the Fallen fly everywhere as the bombs exploded in a wave of Arc and Void Light. When the various explosions had finished the trio paused for breath.

"Nice job," Adam said, panting.

Kayla looked at him. "Do you even _need_ to breath?" she laughed.

Adam shrugged innocently. Delta grinned. "Nothing like a little bloodshed to bring us closer together, right?" he asked, earning blank stares from Adam and Kayla. "No? Just me?." He sniffed once, put out. "Okay then."

"Guys?" Ghost asked. "Sal's nearly done, but I'm sensing movement. It might not be over."

"Noted," Adam said.

Suddenly several rounds from wire rifles rained out of the gloom. Delta swore loudly and put up one of his purple shields. "Snipers!" he yelled as the rounds bounced off feebly.

"No, shit!" Adam growled.

"Where are they?" Kayla asked, panicking.

"They must be on the ledge up there," Delta said, pointing a rusted ledge in the direction the rounds were coming from. "Bastards must have cloaking tech."

"Ah, that's just great," Adam muttered.

"There's another one," Ghost said as helped Sal. "On your left."

The group backed up slightly as a large Captain strode up to them. The Captain was dressed in regal looking blue armour accented with red robes. His helmet was horned and oriental in appearance, though not as fancy as Riksis' but enough for Kayla to tell he was important. He appeared to be mocking the group in his native tongue. Ghost watched.

"Well..." he mused. "Now have I chance to test this. Bear with me."

The group stood awkwardly as the Captain laughed. However they slowly managed to pick out humans words. Kayla looked at Ghost, who motioned her to concentrate on the Fallen Captain.

"...We will take your Great Machine," he laughed "And your people will be enslaved!"

"...Hang on, that's English," Delta said, stunned and confused.

"What?" the Fallen hissed, equally confused.

"You're speaking English," Kayla stressed.

"I would never...!"

"That's definitely English," Adam chimed in, amused.

"I speak only Eliksni!" the Captain roared in anger.

Kayla's eyes fell on Ghost. If the little machine could he would be grinning with delight. "What did...?" Kayla asked.

"Something I've been working on while looking for you," he said. "I doubt the Fallen all speak English, so I built in a programme to translate the two languages: the Telepathic Translation Field. As long as I'm here you'll hear him, in real time, in English and he'll hear us in Fallen."

"That's...clever," Adam said, impressed.

"Makes things easier," Ghost replied, making Kayla chuckle.

"Alright then," she said as she turned to the Captain. "Now that we understand each other...who are you?"

"Baron Naksis of House Devil," the Fallen replied, indignant but still confused. "I assume you are here for Sepiks Prime?"

Kayla braced himself, knowing what was to come. The Devil Baron merely chuckled with delight. "Sepiks Prime is all powerful, he cannot be defeated."

"Is that why you're trying to stop us?" Delta asked with a smirk. "Can't be too powerful if your scared of a few Guardians."

Naksis hissed deeply in a deadly low voice. "I won't allow your heresy to go unpunished."

Out of nowhere the familiar sound of wire rifles came shooting out of the gloom of the refinery. The three Guardians dived behind cover as Naksis began to fire on them with his shrapnel launcher. Kayla began taking potshots at the dark ledge. She got lucky and struck something, seeing a shimmer in the shape of a Vandal.

"Stealth Vandals!" Kayla yelled, gliding away from a round of shrapnel. "On the ledge!"

"I got it!" Adam yelled. "Delta, cover me!"

Delta nodded and drew the snipers away from Adam as he charged the Vandals. While that was going on Kayla found herself going toe to toe with Naksis. Naksis lunged at her with gauntlet-covered clawed hand, Kayla ducking and punching him feebly. Naksis laughed and fired his launcher again forcing the young Warlock to dodge. She quickly pulled out her shotgun and fired madly at Naksis. The stunned Baron stumbled as his shield gave way. He grabbed his abdomen, growling menacingly. With a mighty roar Naksis charged at Kayla, tackling her to the ground and wrapping his hands around her throat.

"Riksis fell, Sepiks will not!" he growled gutturally, throatling her violently.

Kayla kicked at his stomach, unable to move. From the corner of her eyes she saw Delta arm his scout rifle at them. Kayla reached out her hand to the side, desperately searching for something, _anything_ to use as a melee weapon. Her heart skipped a beat when she felt a large rock under her fingers. She grabbed it and, with all her might, smashed it into Naksis' head. Naksis growled, grabbed his bleeding head in pain as metal from his helmet fell to the ground, letting Kayla go in the process. Before he had a chance to react Delta fired once, the bullet piercing Naksis' skull. The Baron slumped onto Kayla, dead. Kayla grunted as she heaved Naksis off her, dusting herself down.

"You couldn't have done that sooner?" she asked, irritated.


	7. 1-7) The Devils' Lair

**A/N:** God, I hated that Walker.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _**Destiny**_ is owned by Bungie, Activision and High Moon Studios. I only own Kayla, Delta and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 01:** Devils and Kings

 **Chapter 007:** The Devil's Lair

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **Old Russia**_

 _ **Cosmodrome: Refinery**_

"That's a handy trick your ghost thought of," Delta said as he looted Naksis' corpse.

"I'll admit that was clever," Adam said.

"Well, three hundred years of searching gives you a lot of free time," Ghost said modestly, yet unable to hide his pride.

"Do you think they'll be anymore?" Kayla asked, not wanting another fight.

"Not if we're lucky," Delta replied, holstering his rifle. "How's it coming, Sal?"

"D-Done!" Sal answered proudly. With a quiet beep the laser trip wires deactivated, leaving an open industrial door. Kayla figured they were in some sort of supply depot judging by the wrecked trains and forklifts littering the large warehouse they were entering. She continued following Delta and Adam into a narrow corridor, crates and rusted trolleys scattered around the dimly light rooms. The splashing of water on the partially flooded floor echoed through the abandoned facility. No sign of Fallen prompted Kayla to worry.

"It's too quiet," she said.

"Yeah," Delta murmured. "I don't like it."

"Don't worry about it," Adam said casually as they came out to a large open expanse of wasteland hidden in the shadow of the old colony ship that towered above the Cosmodrome. "They've probably crawled away to die."

As they came out into the crater filled blast Kayla's eyes widened in panic at the sight of a large force of Devils guarding the entrance to the Devil's Lair proper. Behind them was a large spider-like mech covered in thick brown and red armour, and armed with a large, long turret on its back.

"Is that a...tank?" Ghost asked, squinting. In response the spider-mech fired. "It's a tank!"

"Get down!" Delta yelled. The group dived to the ground as the shell careened past their heads destroying a part of the refinery's wall.

Kayla rolled on the floor, her ears filled with a piercing ringing sound. She groaned body still in shock. Scrambling for her gun Kayla crawled behind a rusted building, her heart almost bursting out of her chest in fright.

"You alright?" Delta asked as he ran up to her.

" _They have a tank!_ " Kayla shrieked in fear. "How do you beat a _tank?!_ "

"Er...shoot it?" Delta suggested with a shrug.

"...I'm gonna fucking slap you in a minute."

"Just shoot the legs," Adam shouted of gunfire as he picked off the Fallen with a sniper rifle. "Once it takes enough damage it exposes its core."

"How does that...?" Kayla started, before thinking better of it and firing from a distance.

Meanwhile the Devils all scrambled for cover as the three Guardians bore down on them with gunfire. The two Captains leading the defence yelled angrily at the Vandals and Dregs to push on them, funnelling them into a place where the Walker could end them swiftly. As the Dregs were mowed by the female Guardian, one Captain, Vosik, paused in shock.

"Maskis!" he hissed to his fellow Captain

"I know," Maskis growled.

"But it's _her!_ "

" _I know!_ " Maskis roared over the sound of gunfire, ignoring the Vandals that fell beside them. "But if we don't stop them here Sepiks is defenceless! We cannot lose this ground, Vosik!"

"But if we do?" Vosik stressed, a hint of worry in his voice.

Maskis glowered at him. "Are you suggesting a retreat, you coward?"

"No," Vosik growled. "I know Sepiks can defend Himself, but _if_ He gets destroyed? You _know_ what House Guardians is like!"

Maskis frowned as the Walker collapsed, allowing the three Guardians to fire on its core. A lump formed in his throat as realization set in. The House of Devils were already weakened by the loss of Kell Solkis at the failure of the Battle of Twilight Gap but on top of this Riksis had perished at the hands of a greenhorn Guardian and, judging by the groups presence right in front of Sepiks' domain, Naksis must have failed as well. Maskis mentally cursed as the Walker whirred back into life.

"You there!" Maskis yelled at a nearby Dreg. "What's your name?"

The Dreg froze in fear, staring at the raging battle before him in the Blast before looking back at Maskis. "A-Aksis, sir," he said quietly.

"Aksis, go and warn the lair," Maskis ordered. "This isn't a matter of pride, our very House is on the line. Now-!"

A gunshot pierced through the noise and Aksis watched in horror as Maskis fell to the sniper's bullet. Vosik looked at the terrified Dreg. "He gave you and order Aksis, go! Go or _I'll_ be the one to kill you!"

Aksis nodded and fled into the lair while Vosik rallied his troops. "You all know what's at stake here!" he roared. "Defend this spot until the last Dreg falls or, by the Great Machine, I will skin you all myself!"

The Fallen collectively roared and screeched, much to Delta's bewilderment. "It seems killing that Captain spooked them a little," he said from inside his Ward of Dawn. "The Walker's looking a bit tired too. Keep those rounds up, Adam!"

"You do ya job, I'll do mine!" Adam snapped.

From the rooftop of the only building in the area a laid down Kayla continued to fire on the Walker. She had become surprisingly focused during the battle as the adrenaline set in. Ghost watched her take out the Dregs climbing up the hill before focusing on the Walker's legs once more.

"Well...you seem to be doing well," he noted.

"I already died once," Kayla replied, reloading. "I am _not_ dying again."

Ghost nodded in silence, watching the Walker's turret move. "That's...Kayla, we've got a problem!"

Kayla looked up from her scope, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end as the turret's aim fell on a clueless Adam.

" _Adam, look out!_ " she screamed, but she was too late and could only watch in horror as the tank's shell fired in to him, sending his body flying through the air like a ragdoll.

* * *

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **Last City**_

 _ **Tower**_

Ikora looked through the intel on the Devil's Lair once more. The Vanguard was confident that the destruction of Sepiks Prime could break the House of Devils completely, but the Warlock was always the type to double and triple check the information. Guardians were a valuable commodity to the City, and with the Traveller giving off less ghosts with every passing day, the loss of just one was always a blow to the Tower's forces as well as the City's belief in their invincible defenders. Ikora glanced upwards at Zavala.

The Commander was busy sorting out a new Crucible ground with Lord Shaxx, the man in charge of training Guardians in live fire exercises. The Crucible was Shaxx's idea after the Great Disaster to ensure Guardians were always prepared for any battle, and it also worked in the Vanguard's favour. Most Crucible grounds were placed in vital positions and ensured that there were always Guardians present to defend them.

Zavala caught the faint disappointment in Ikora's eyes. Shaxx, clad as always in thick white Titan armour and single-horned helmet, shifted awkwardly. I believe we should pick this up again at another time."

As Shaxx swiftly left the Hall of Guardians, Zavala turned to Ikora. "You're mad at me, aren't you?" he sighed.

"What gave you that idea?" Ikora replied curtly.

"Is this about Kayla joining the strike against Sepiks?"

Ikora glared at him. "You know the Warlocks are in _my_ care, not yours, don't you?"

"Careful, Zavala. I hear she bites," Cayde chuckled as he walked past.

Zavala ignored the Hunter and sat next to Ikora. There was no doubt the Vanguard's leader trusted each other completely but Zavala knew Ikora's penchant for worrying. "You trust my judgement," he said after a while. I wouldn't have sent her if I didn't believe she could handle it. She slayed Riksis after all."

"Riksis was weak for an Archon!" Ikora snapped. "It was his arrogance that made him a threat, he was no stronger than a Captain. The Devils have been weak even since Saint killed Solkis."

"Come on, Ikora," Cayde said from the long table that dominated the room. "Zavala's never let us down. Besides, I have a feeling we're gonna get a lot of good things from Kayla."

"What makes you say that?" Zavala asked.

"Hunter's intuition."

"Are you sure that's not a dodgy circuit?" Ikora smirked, making Zavala chuckle.

* * *

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **Old Russia**_

 _ **Cosmodrome, the Blast**_

Adam was dead! That was the only thought going through Kayla's mind as the battle raged on around her, now a cacophony of hazy noise as Kayla watched Adam's body land in a heap in the middle of the crater that dominated the battleground. A sickly feeling burned up in her stomach as flashes over her family's painful death at the hands of the Hive ran through her mind, tormenting her once more. She could hear the voice of Delta over the gunfire but couldn't make out what he was saying. She could only croak out one word.

"No..."

And the anger, rage and grief.

"No...!"

If only she could form it into something tangible to get it out of her head. Kayla felt her hands tingle, encased in purple void Light. Slowly she clenched her firsts, staring down at her bloodied, battle scarred gloves, seeing sparks of decaying Light fall from her hands. With a deep breath Kayla opened her mouth and screamed.

" _No!_ "

Vosik watched from behind the Walker as the female, the Archon Slayer, stood up and charge the Fallen. Vosik panicked, frantically ordering his troops to focus on her. Kayla dodged as the adrenaline kept her going. She could hear Ghost screaming at her to stop as she jumped and glided above the Walker with a large orb of decaying void Light in her palms, looking like a menacing demon to the Fallen. With a mighty roar Kayla threw the orb, sending it careening into the mech. It exploded in beautifully devastating majesty, disintegrating every Fallen caught in the explosion.

Vosik, having managed to avoid it, stood up, winded but alive. He could see the female in front of him on her knees, dazed. Her panting was ragged as she took in what she had done. Vosik swallowed hard and charged the girl with his swords.

Kayla looked up, recoiling as the Captain lunged at her. The response was Delta emptying a clip of bullets into him. The Captain fell to the ground, clutching at his chest. The Titan helped a stunned Kayla up. She looked around, half in shock.

"What did I...?"

"That was your Nova Bomb," Delta explained. "Most Voidwalker Warlocks can use some variation of the attack. Never seen one used up close, though. That was pretty cool."

"I did... _this?_ " Kayla asked, surveying the damage she'd wrought, horrified with herself.

The Fallen were all dead, either piles of dust or devoid of all life while the Walker beside the two Guardians was nothing but a flaming heap of scrap. But there was something else. Something important.

"...Adam!" Kayla cried, rushing to the fallen Exo.

The pair rushed to Adam, ripping off his mangled helmet. The Exo's right eye was dim, while both his legs were missing. Adam coughed slightly.

"Nice Nova Bomb," he said to a panicking Kayla. "Ya did good."

"Adam, you're gonna be ok," Kayla said hurriedly, cradling Adam. "We'll get you better, Guardians can be revived."

"Not this time," Adam said, holding up his smashed ghost. "Listen...take my Nihilist, Kayla." Adam patted the ground trying to find the large heavy machine gun, grasping the barrel when he found it. "As an apology for the way I acted. Give Sepiks the ol' one-two for me."

Kayla trembled as Adam's eyes went out. Holding back tears she gently laid Adam's head down. As she knelt in the dirt, memories of her family's demise on her mind, Delta put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Hey," he said softly. "I know it's tough. But don't let him die for nothing.

Kayla nodded, inhaling slowly and putting the memories of _that_ day behind the door in her mind. _That_ day could wait. For now she had one thing on her mind: Sepiks' death.

Vosik could only watch as the pair of Guardians ran to the Devil's Lair.

* * *

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **Old Russia**_

 _ **Cosmodrome, Devil's Lair**_

The Devil's Lair was quiet. The old human space port, rusted beyond repair, overgrown and littered with the skulls of long dead Guardians was filled with Fallen waiting with baited breath. They knew what was coming, even if He didn't.

Above them was a large purple Servitor, hovering silently in the wing. He was layered with several sheets of purple metal and had thick, sharp spines littering His body. In the centre of the orb was a large mechanical eye.

"I...!" the Servitor announced, scaring everyone in the room. "Am great!"

The Fallen looked at each other nervously. While no would question the mighty Sepiks Prime they couldn't deny that the prime Servitor had certainly become...quirkier since Riksis' death. The Devils knew Sepiks had been arrogant but they ignored it with religious zeal. Sepiks gave them the precious ether the needed to survive. Without Him the House of Devils would collapse, especially with Riksis and Solkis defeated. This was more than a defence. This was the fight for their very existence.

Sepiks was more than content with the setup. He did not care for the House of Devils' zealousy so long as it did not prevent Him from getting what He wanted. Even the other Primes didn't understand the reasoning behind it but none of them questioned it. The Servitors were the lifeblood of the Fallen, something Sepiks was acutely aware of. However, centuries of worship and shelter had blinded the Prime to the weight of what was happening around them and Sepiks, so confident in His worshippers, wouldn't even entertain the thought of dying. It was this that had begun to worry the House of Devils as they were nowhere near as strong as they had been prior to the Battle of Twilight Gap.

Twilight Gap was a struggle between the Houses of Devils, Winter, Kings and Wolves against the City. The Wolves never made it past Mars which allowed the City's Guardians to win, the Devils suffering the most losses. Solkis was killed soon after and it had been rumoured they were now being secretly run by proxies of the Kell of Kings. This fact frightened the Devils immensely, and some had already abandoned them for the Exiled on the Moon.

The Devils heard the large steel door open with a mighty mechanical groan of hydraulics. Through the doors came the Guardians; one tall, well built male in thick dark blue and green armour, a 'Titan'; the other a slender female in slightly tattered brown robes, a 'Warlock'. Even though the third member was nowhere to be found the Devils were scared. It was only faith and desperation that kept them going now.

"Right," Delta said. "We can do this the easy way, or the fun way. Your choice."

The Dregs roared and charged in response with their tiny daggers but were mowed down by the Guardians' rifles. Delta ducke behind cover as three Vandals fired on them with wire rifles. Kayla took cover behind a crate, narrowly avoiding a sniper round.

"Delta!" Kayla yelled. "Distract them while I get in close! I don't think Sepiks has seen us."

"On it!" Delta said, firing in the Vandal trio's general direction.

With the sniper's gunfire firmly on Delta Kayla charged them, gliding up to their hiding spot and blasting them with her Scattercast, leaving the aliens gaping holes in their chests. They collapsed, dead. Only a Captain remained, duelling Delta in Sepiks' shadow.

"Sepiks will not fall!" the Captain roared, lunging at the Titan.

Delta grabbed the electrified sword, yanking it out of the Captain's hand. The Captain stumbled allowing Delta to knee him in the chin. The Captain roared in pain, the force of the attack knocking him of his feet. Delta took the opportunity to impale the creature with its own sword. The Captain let out a dying screech before going limp.

"You ok?" Kayla asked as she went up to Delta.

"Yeah," Delta nodded. "Thanks for taking care of the Vandals."

"No problem," Kayla grinned before turning to the giant floating Servitor. "So...this is Sepiks Prime?"

"I guess," Delta replied. "It's certainly...imposing."

The pair watched Sepiks float in silence. Kayla leaned slightly to Delta. "Do you think...?"

" _I...!_ " Sepiks boomed, making the two Guardians jump back ten feet. "am _ALMIGHTY!_ "

" _Christ!_ " Kayla shouted, holding her heart. "Fuck me..."

Sepiks' eye moved around slightly. It looked left, noticing the corpses of the Fallen. Slowly the eye moved right. More corpses. Menacingly Sepiks' eye focused on Kayla and Delta.

"Who...are _you_?" Sepiks asked. "Where are my worshippers?!"

"I think its pissed," Delta noted, angering Sepiks further.

 **(Sepiks Prime- Destiny OST)**

" _Infidels!_ " Sepiks boomed, the full realization of what was happening finally dawning on Him. " _Heretics!_ My Devils! Defend me!"

 **SEPIKS PRIME**

Sepiks teleported backwards and began firing on the two Guardians with powerful mortars of void energy. The pair split up, Sepiks focusing his gaze on Kayla and firing once more.

"Oh, shit! Oh, shit! Oh, shit! Oh, shit!" Kayla shouted as tried her best to outrun the blasts. "Ghost, got any ideas?"

"Er, besides not dying?" Ghost asked as Kayla took cover in an abandoned security booth. "Uhh...gimme a sec to analyze this thing."

"Hey!" Delta bellowed. "Leave my friend alone!"

Sepiks sharply turned to Delta, inspecting him before firing on him. Delta instinctively let out Ward of Dawn to shield himself from the plasma mortars.

"He's gonna get killed!" Kayla whispered to Ghost.

"No..." Ghost replied. "He's buying us time...Quick, get me to where the Vandals were."

Kayla did as she was told and jumped up to where the gangway the snipers were stood on. Clambering over the railings and onto the gangway she tentatively held out Ghost.

"Oh, my...!" Ghost gasped in disbelief.

"What?" Kayla asked.

"It's weak point. It's got the same weak point as the lesser Servitors."

"Meaning...!" Kayla said in realization.

"Shoot the eye! Now!"

Kayla hopped down and ran to Delta, firing on Sepiks' eye with the Nihilist. Sepiks stopped and shook itself. How dare they? How _dare_ they?

"Yeah, you don't like that, do you?" Kayla taunted.

Sepiks angrily teleported near them, hoping to attack them from behind. His renewed plasma blasts caught the pair off guard but the Guardians backed off, Delta pulling out a rocket launcher and firing at the Prime. Sepiks' body shook as he was bombarded, teleporting back to the far end of the room as Skiffs from the Cosmodrome descended.

Kayla and Delta took cover as Sepiks' reinforcements unleashed a volley of bullets on them. Kayla threw out a Vortex Grenade on the central landing zone, watching the Fallen fell into the void. Delta was busy taking out snipers with his scout rifle, trying to clear the area.

"That's it, my Devils!" Sepiks yelled. "Destroy them! _Delete them!_ "

Kayla began firing on the Dregs and Vandals that came in close, jumping away from a grenade. Kayla switched to her machine gun and mowed down any Devil that came close. The last to rush them were the three Captains. The pair dodged the blades of the Fallen, dancing around them as the Captains continued their assault. Kayla whipped out her Scattercast and smacked one of the Captains with it. The Captain was knocked back into Delta, who floored the Captain in a single punch.

"That was unorthodox," Delta chuckled.

"Meh," Kayla shrugged, smacking the second Captain with Energy Drain.

The Captain stumbled slightly as his strength was sapped by void Light. While the Captain was stunned Kayla fired on him with her Pulsar. With a final headshot the Captain fell to the floor, swiftly followed by the third that Delta suplexed and threw.

Sepiks roared in anger a teleported up to Kayla and hovered over her, His eye glowing a deep red. "I will _not_ be silenced by humans!" Sepiks raged as he snared Kayla in a white light. Kayla screamed in pain as she felt her light get drained by the Prime Servitor, ripping away from her body while the Servitor merely laughed at her agony. Delta looked on, quickly reloaded his rocket launcher and firing on Sepiks. Sepiks whirred in frustration, angrily dropping Kayla and firing void blasts at Delta.

Kayla took the chance to move to cover, pulling out the Nihilist and firing on Sepiks. Sepiks teleported away from them, hovering over an exposed sewer line and firing on them yet again.

"You cannot defeat me!" Sepiks shrieked. "I am a god!"

Kayla scoffed and fired on Sepiks with her Pulsar. "You're just a life support system, nothing more!"

Delta mercilessly fired on Sepiks' eye with his sniper rifle, cracks finally starting to show in the machine. Sepiks screeched and teleported in front of them, charging up another shot. Kayla took the chance and barrelled towards the giant Servitor, her right palm filled with void energy. With a powerful scream Kayla hurled a deadly Nova Bomb at Sepiks. The Prime took the full brunt of the attack as the Bomb exploded, cracking His shell on the upper right side of His body. Sepiks teleported away from them, spinning uncontrollable when it reappeared. Sepiks looked around in panic as the ether inside it began to leak out of the various cracks in His shell. With an almighty boom Sepiks exploded, His debris landed on the rusted floors of the Devils' Lair.

 **(End Sepiks Prime)**

Kayla stood, panting. Taking off her helmet she surveyed the destruction the battle brought. So many Fallen had died for this machine and it made Kayla wonder what caused them to act that way. She sighed, deciding to leave that question for another day.

"Let's go," she said to Delta.

The Titan nodded and the pair headed for the exit, only to be stopped by the sound of a gun being cocked. Kayla slowly turned, stunned to see a lone Dreg holding a shock rifle. It was trembling and its four eyes were wide with fear.

"I-I won't let you go!" he stammered, shaking before the Guardians.

Delta made for his scout rifle but was stopped by Kayla. At first the Titan was confused as his friend made her way up to the Dreg. The lonely Dreg took shaky step back, nearly dropping the rifle.

"I'll do it!" the Dreg rasped, the pitch of his voice making Kayla realize he was only young. "Don't think I won't!"

"I've been here long enough to know that if you meant you'd have done it by now," Kayla said, picking up a red glyphed banner that had fallen down during the fight. Calmly she walked up to the Dreg, glancing at the banner. "This is the mark of the House of Devils, isn't it?" The Dreg whimpered in response. "What's your name? You must have one. Mine's Kayla."

The Dreg remained silent, keeping an eye on the man at the back. Kayla sighed and handed the banner to him. "I'm sorry it came to this," she said solemnly before heading back to Delta.

The Dreg looked at the female, Kayla. She'd murdered his god. And then spared a mongrel like him! What was the meaning behind that? Why him? Why did _he_ have to be spared?! The Dreg looked at the Devil symbol in his hands. The symbol used to mean something but now, with the god proven to be nothing more than a machine, it was empty and hollow of all meaning.

The Dreg, acting on impulse, screamed at the top of his lungs. "I will achieve perfection! I will make House Devil great again!"

Kayla glanced back at the Dreg, eying him. "What's your name?"

The Dreg, unable to control himself, yelled through tears, his voice ringing throughout the silent Cosmodrome. "I will remove our weaknesses! I will save us! I will murder every last stinking Guardian on this planet!"

"What's your name?" Kayla asked, shocked and horrified by the Dreg's outburst. Delta moved in, but was stopped by Kayla again. "He's only a _child_ ," she said, half apologizingly.

The Dreg watched on as a hurricane of anger and shame churned inside him. " _AKSIS!_ " he screeched, collapsing to his knees. "My name is Aksis," he repeated weakly, crying. "Remember that."

Kayla stared at Aksis in shock before leaving. Delta looked at Aksis then quickly followed Kayla back to the Blast. "You can't be seriously leaving him?" he asked in disbelief. "Not after _that!_ "

"We came to kill Sepiks," Kayla snapped. "That's what we did. I'll meet you back at the Tower."

Before Delta could say anything Kayla had teleported back to the ship, leaving a slightly bewildered Delta in the Blast.

* * *

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **City skies**_

Kayla's ship flew over the City walls, Kayla herself biting her lip hard. Ghost looked over her, concerned. "Are you ok?" he asked finally. "That...Aksis seems to have struck her nerve."

Kayla chuckled bitterly. "Something like that."

She shook her head as the image of her brother played on her mind. Somehow, Aksis had made her wonder what made the Guardians any better than the Fallen in some respects and, coupled with what Rahn had said about the Traveller, she couldn't help but feel guilt about what she had done today. Weirdly enough it gave her some comfort. It meant she was still human. Kayla ran a hand through her black hair before turning to Ghost. "He was a child. I couldn't do it."

Ghost looked at his Guardian. "He reminds you of your brother, doesn't he?"

"I just took _everything_ from him!" Kayla said. "Just like the Hive did to me. Aksis had already lost enough, I couldn't kill him too. I just couldn't. That'd make me no better than the Hive."

Ghost sighed but nodded. "I understand. Still, you should be proud of yourself. Sepiks Prime is dead. If I could high-five you, I would. So...just...imagine it, I suppose. Zavala will be pleased. But if this comes back to bite us I won't be happy."

"Sepiks, Riksis and Solkis are dead," Kayla replied as the ship docked in the Tower's hangar. "What can the House of Devils do now?"

* * *

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **The City**_

 _ **Tower**_

 _ **Later that evening...**_

"Sepiks Prime cast a great shadow over our City," Zavala announced to the two Guardians that stood before him. "With Solkis, Riksis and Sepiks gone the House of Devils should be weakened beyond repair, giving our City some much needed breathing room. And we have the pair of you to thank for that. You should both be proud of what you have achieved today."

"I don't feel it," Kayla said, sadly glancing at Adam's Nihilist that lay alone on the table.

"Ah, yes...loss is something we have all felt," Zavala said comfortingly. "But do not let it blind you to your accomplishments."

Kayla felt Delta put a gentle hand on her shoulder. They had defeated a god, dismantled the House of Devils' leadership in the space of a month. And yet...seeing Adam die made her suddenly aware of her own vulnerability. Being invulnerable was not the same as being immortal.

Cayde looked at Ikora and Zavala then the Nihilist. He grabbed the gun and presented it to Kayla. She moved the bangs of her fridge out of her eyes and looked at him.

"When a Hunter takes up a fallen Hunter's cloak they make a vow," he said. "Now, neither you or Adam were Hunters but I feel you having his gun would work the same way."

Kayla nodded and took the gun, silently vowing to protect her comrades and honour the dead. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"Great!" Cayde said with a smirk, or rather what Exos classed as a smirk. "Now go get out there and celebrate!" Delta and Kayla looked at each other as Cayde pushed them out of the Hall of Guardians. "Go on! Shoo!"

It was quiet in the City and Kayla was sat alone with Ghost at a café table in one of the City's many food districts. Despite being the middle of summer there was a chill night air. Kayla glanced up at the sky seeing nothing but the moon shining down on them, a chill running up her spine as she remembered Ghost's words about the Hive.

Kayla sighed and looked at the music options for her table. She wasn't overly fond of the modern music and looked into the classical playlist, finding a mix of music from the late 20th Century to the 25th Century, settling on an old rock band named Guns 'n' Roses. Ghost was busy inspecting the lights, towering buildings, plants and general hustle bustle around them.

"You know, I never came here before I met you," he said, floating up to a bush."Look at these roses! They're beautiful."

Kayla chuckled. "I didn't take you for a florist."

Ghost laughed, only to be grabbed by a small hand "Argh! Kayla, help! We're under attack!"

Kayla laughed as she watched a little boy no more than eight inspect Ghost with awe. The child shook Ghost hard until a woman, presumably his mother, helped free Ghost. Kayla was in bits as the now dizzy Ghost floated awkwardly to her.

"I'm so sorry," the woman said apologetically. "Dax gets a little excited about Guardians."

"It's fine," Kayla smiled. "Ghost's fine, aren't you?"

"I see two Travellers..." he said quietly.

"He'll be fine," Kayla grinned as Dax hugged her leg. "Oh...hello."

"Thank you!" Dax said loudly.

"...For what?"

"For keeping us safe from the monsters," he said indignantly. "When I grow up I want to be just like you."

Kayla couldn't help but smile. ' _At least there's still some hope_ ,' she thought.

"Having fun there?" Delta asked with a laugh as he walked up to Kayla, Sal hovering over his shoulder.

The little boy gasped at the sight of Sal, who quickly hid behind Delta's head, peeking out slightly. The boy grinned and turned to his mother. "Can I be a Guardian when I grow up? Please?"

Kayla looked at his mum. She was obviously reluctant to say yes and, with Adam's death fresh in her mind, Kayla couldn't blame her. Delta sensed the reluctance and knelt before Dax.

"Hey, kid," he said softly. "Maybe becoming a Guardian isn't such a good idea."

"Why?" the boy pouted.

"If you're out there, who'll protect your mom?"

Dax gave a small gasp and looked up at his mum. Kayla joined Delta. "Yeah," she said. "If one day we can't help you, someone needs to protect her."

Dax nodded confidently and ran back to his mother, hugging her leg. She crouched down and picked him up, holding him close. "Come on, let's go see that movie you wanted to see. Have a good evening you two."

The pair of Guardians waved in response and sat down at their table. They sat in silence for a moment before Delta spoke.

"You look nice," he said.

"Er..." Kayla looked down at her grey tank top, short shorts and black leggings. "Thanks. Feels good to be out of that armour and just be able to relax. I don't look that great anyway."

"Better than me," the Awoken laughed motioning to his jeans and plain black t-shirt, offset by a single chain around his left pocket.

The pair chatted throughout the night about what they had done in their careers so far. Delta was from the Reef but was exiled due to being able to wield Light, something that frightened the Reef's queen. After some discussion, Kayla realized that 'the Reef' was actually the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter and was currently the furthest edge of the Traveller's influence, anything beyond was governed by a mysterious group known as 'the Nine'. Kayla asked multiple questions about the Traveller and the Darkness but Delta didn't seem to know much about the last couple of hundred years. In the end they talked about nonsense, from music to food to favourite shows.

"There was this TV show about an alien man who travelled through time in a big blue box, saving the world from evil monsters," Kayla said, taking another drink of her wine. "It was awesome!"

Delta laughed. "You don't think the writers knew what was coming, do you? Haha, you know, for a dead girl, you seem to remember more than most Guardians."

"That's...good, I guess?" Kayla laughed.

"Yeah," Delta nodded. "Hang on to it."

Kayla smiled and took a drink of her own, glancing at the empty seat next to them. Delta stared at it too before raising his glass. "To fallen friends," he said.

"To fallen friends," Kayla repeated, knocking her glass against his.


	8. 1-8) First Steps Out

**A/N:** To celebrate the reveal trailer here's an update. New arc, new character. If you enjoyed it please leave a review. If you have constructive criticism also leave a review

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ is owned by Bungie, Activision and High Moon Studios. I only Kayla, Delta and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 02:** The Hive Ritual

 **Chapter 008:** First Steps Out

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **City, Tower**_

Kayla woke the next day tangled in her bed covers. She groaned as she forced herself to sit up, her body screaming at her to stay in bed. Grumpily blowing a lock of hair out of her eyes, Kayla slipped out of bed, tripping over the covers slightly.

After going through her morning routine Kayla got dressed and headed to the Tower's plaza. She had noticed that, during the last month, the Vanguard had been leaving Kayla to her own devices more and more eventually learning that the Vanguard was only mildly militaristic at best, with most Guardians being left to their own devices and the Vanguard acting as overseers as opposed to actual military commanders. Most Guardians were motivated by loot and glory than anything else but would pull together to prevent the Last City from falling. As such Kayla would patrol areas, picking up Vanguard beacons or doing bounties at the request of Xander, the robot in charge of keeping track of them.

Today was no different and Kayla found herself in front of Xander once more. Xander was a robot frame, different the Exo in the sense that, unlike them, he was a programmed machine. Xander was gangly and thin, humanoid in shape with cuboid head.

"Hey, Xander," Kayla said cheerfully as she approached the Frame.

"Ah, Miss Kayla," Xander said in a soft voice. "The Vanguard is looking for you, I believe."

"Oh?" Kayla asked, turning to Ghost.

"Don't look at me," Ghost said.

Kayla shrugged and bid farewell to Xander and headed for the Hall of Guardians. She wondered what the Vanguard could want with her so soon after the strike on the Devils Lair and the worry of not knowing played up her anxiety. Kayla shook the thoughts out of her head as she arrived at the Vanguard's table.

Ah, Guardian," Zavala greeted with a smile. "I have a message for you from the Speaker. You are to go to the Moon to find a missing Guardian."

' _The Moon...?_ ' Kayla thought. ' _But that's where the...!_ '

No, no.

Kayla put those thoughts behind the door in her mind, taking a deep breath. Regaining her composure she looked at the Vanguard. "Where are they?" she asked.

"Somewhere on the Ocean of Storms," Ikora replied, pulling a holographic map from the table. "We lost contact at an old launch station."

"Wait..." Ghost said slowly. "I thought the Moon was under lockdown after... _that_ happened?"

"After your discovery of the Hidden Swarm in the Cosmdrome, the Speaker thought it best to lift," Cayde replied.

"Regardless," Zavala interjected, bringing the conversation back on track. "Your mission is to find this Guardian and, if possible, bring them home."

"Yes, Sir!" Kayla said with a salute, earning a chuckle from Cayde.

"Good luck," Zavala smiled.

"Oh! By the way, is Delta helping?"

"Delta is currently in the European Dead Zone," Ikora replied. "So you're on your own."

Kayla's face faltered slightly. "I see..." she murmured before quickly grinning. "Best get to it then."

With that Kayla left to get her ship. When she was out of earshot the Vanguard began talking amongst themselves.

"What does the Speaker think he's doing?" Ikora hissed. "He _knows_ how Kayla acts with the Hive."

"The Speaker believes Kayla will only grow by facing her fears," Zavala said calmly. "I trust him."

"This is the same man who exiled Osiris!"

"Relax, Ikora," Cayde said casually. "Kayla's stronger than even she thinks. She took Riksis and Sepiks after all."

"Even so..." Ikora said quietly.

"Don't worry about it," Cayde smirked. "Everyone was a noob at some point."

* * *

 _ **Luna**_

From her ship's cockpit Kayla stared out into the inky gloom of space. She had always been aware that the human race was small but seeing the giant white pearl that was the Moon suspended in the eerie calm of space suddenly made her realize just how small mankind was. From the furthest distances she could see the faintest stars, shining bright a million light years away and reminding her of the hope she was clinging onto.

' _If only Mum and Dad could see me now..._ ' she thought to herself before turning to Ghost. "At the Tower you mentioned the Moon should be on lockdown. Why?"

Ghost sighed. "They called it the Great Disaster. About fifty years ago we tried to reclaim the Moon. We thought we could do it." He looked over the Moon's crater filled landscape as the ship entered from orbit. "We were wrong. The Hive slaughtered us, led by some sort of monster. After the Disaster a group called Fireteam Noble tried to slay the creature in revenge. They were never seen again. We gave up the Moon after that. Hoped it would be enough for them. Evidently...it wasn't."

"Somehow I get the feeling it won't ever be," Kayla said quietly. "Wait, could I breathe down there?"

"Your helmet will allow you to," Ghost said confidently, still looking down at the Moon's surface. "I used to look at the moon at night and wonder what the Hive were planning. The conclusions always made me churn..."

Kayla looked down at the craggy surface, taking a deep breath and hitting the teleport button. She landed on her feet awkwardly, stumbling on to the ground. Instead of the usual annoyance Kayla looked at the grey dust in her hands. It was _real_ moondust. She laughed like a giddy child, picking up rocks and throwing them into the air. They landed heavily instead of floating silently, something which confused Kayla. However, she was soon distracted by the view of Earth, hanging in the pitch black sky surrounded by stars.

"Oh, my god...!" she gasped. "It's...so beautiful!"

The mix of greens, browns and blues pattered Earth like a canvas and Kayla could see the clouds move in the Earth's atmosphere as the planet quietly rotated, a gem in the inky blackness of space.

"My uncle worked on the International Space Station," Kayla told Ghost. "He always told me Earth is a beautiful world, but you only really appreciate from up here. He was right. I can't describe how I'm feeling." She grinned at her trembling hands. "Look! I'm so excited I'm shaking."

Ghost looked at her." Are you sure that's not just the cold?"

"Shut up," Kayla laughed, pointing a medium sized island at the edge of the European peninsula that edged into view. "You see that island?"

"Yeah."

"That's...that _was_ Britain," she said, finding herself welling up. "On that island...was county called Yorkshire." She blinked back tears, voice croaking. "That's where I'm from. That's...ah, shit..."

Kayla her head as tears fell down her cheeks. The sight of her old home sparked something in her. What she had was gone. Her being here, dressed in armoured robes fighting insect pirates and space zombies finally brought that home.

"You hear that?!" Kayla screamed into the sky. "I'm not gonna let you take my home again!"

Kayla coughed, her voice strained. Ghost came up to her. "You ok?"

"Yeah," she replied, hitting her chest. "Just hurt my throat. Now." Kayla set off up a steep rocky hill. "Missing Guardian."

"The Guardian's last report came from an old launch station at the top of this hill. He reported seizing it from an unknown Fallen House."

"There are Fallen _here?_ " Kayla asked incredulously.

"The Fallen are a hardy species," Ghost answered. "The control Earth but also have outposts on Venus and, supposedly, having outposts beyond the Reef."

"Great," Kayla said with a hint of sarcasm.

The first thing Kayla found at the top of the plateau was a large launch bay dominating the landscape. At the edge of the plateau was a control centre and a large loading bay. From there was a long monorail-like structure that set off for about half a mile. As Kayla entered the complex she noticed something. Like the rock, her steps weren't floaty and, in fact, when she jumped she jumped as though it were in normal gravity.

"What's up with the gravity?" she asked.

Ghost looked for a moment. Kayla jumped a normal jump to prove her point. "Hmmm..." Ghost finally said.

"Hmm?"

"All I can of is the Hive must have done something."

"Well that's helpful," Kayla smirked.

"Sorry!" I'm to this as well!"

Ghost floated deeper into the complex. If he could pout Kayla imagined he would be. She chuckled to herself and followed him. The room was pitch-black, making it hard to see. In the gloom she could make out old computers and storage containers. On the back wall was a barely functioning computer which Ghost was busy messing with.

"What're you doing?" Kayla asked.

"The Guardian we're tracking seems to have left something on this computer," the little robot replied. "Just a bit more and... _there!_ "

The computer whirred into life. After several minutes of loading, the screen showed the video of a Hunter in black and grey high-end armour. Kayla was impressed. The Hunter carried himself in such a way that showed experience but his voice gave away his fears.

"So, Eli here," the man said. "Message for the Vanguard. I've seized the old launch station at the Anchor of Light from the Fallen stationed here. They're called, uh...what they called again?" he asked his ghost.

"House of Exile!" his ghost said cheerily off screen.

"Thanks, Jimmy. Yeah, from what we've gathered they seem to be a group of...revolutionary outcasts from other Houses. They don't follow a Kell, they have no Archon, and they don't appear to have a Prime, so God knows where the Ether is coming from.

"Anyway, we got some intel from one of Toland's old records about some sort of Hive library in the caverns below. Jimmy and I are headed to the Temple of Crota to look into it." He then gave a cheeky grin. "If you could tell my wife to hold off on dinner 'til I get back, that'd be great. Eli out."

Kayla looked at Ghost uneasily as the video looped. Ghost glanced back. "I...I hope he's ok."

"Me too," Kayla sighed, heading back out of the complex. "But what was that about a...'House of Exile'? Shouldn't a House collapse without its triumvirate?"

"It _should_ , but Eli made it sound like the lack of them is what caused the House to form," Ghost made a small beeping noise. "Oh, looks like we're about to meet them. Skiffs incoming!"

"Here we go again..." Kayla muttered as she dived behind old industrial containers, Pulsar ready.

The Skiffs swooped round at frightening speed, dropping off the Fallen in one of the craters under the monorail. They looked the same as the Devils, if a little feral and ragged. The most noticeable difference was their uniforms: faded green and seemingly made of a patchwork of different materials instead of one universal piece. Kayla wondered what drove them to stay on the Moon.

Kayla took aim at the Captain leading the group of Fallen. The two exchanged gunfire over a small crater before the Captain ducked behind a rock. Kayla did the same, reloading and hearing a loud roar from the Captain. Suddenly, Kayla was swarmed by Dregs, all trying to dig their tiny daggers into her body. The Warlock glided upwards, throwing down a Vortex Grenade at the pack. While the Dregs tried to escape the swirling purple void Kayla glided down to the Captain, aiming her shotgun at its face and blasting it furiously.

The Captain collapsed, dead, leaving Kayla with the Dregs. The Dregs hesitated slightly, debating the outcome, before charging Kayla. Kayla sighed and opened fire with her Pulsar. The Dregs were finished in a few shots.

"...I wonder if this will become a trend," Kayla said after the Fallen were defeated.

"Well, considering how much of presence the Fallen have," Ghost said. "I'd say this'll becoming a common occurrence."

Kayla shook her head. "Right...where's this Temple of Crota?"

Ghost projected a small screen, showing a map of the immediate area. "There's an old colony base just through the cliffs. Eli's records show this is where he was headed."

Kayla nodded and summoned her sparrow. Making sure Ghost was safe Kayla sped off down the valley ahead of them. As she cruised through the rocky chasms of the Moon's surface she noticed relics of the Golden Age scattered across the landscape, from trucks to trains. Kayla looked up at the wreckage of satellites still caught in the Moon's orbit, wondering just what the Darkness was and how it destroyed the Golden Age so quickly, and more importantly, _why?_ She sighed, deciding to change the subject.

"Do you ever think of having a name?" Kayla asked Ghost.

Ghost appeared on her lap. "I don't know. I've never really thought of it, I was always just...Ghost."

"What about Sparky?" Kayla suggested.

Ghost looked up at her. "Sparky?" he asked, slightly offended.

"It's cute!" Kayla chuckled.

"I don't do...'cute'."

Kayla laughed at Ghost's displeasure, petting him a little. "Fine, I'll think of something else."

It wasn't long before the pair came upon a large, raised base in the middle of the canyon. Hopping off her Sparrow, Kayla made her way to it. From beneath the orange and black structure she could see large spires poking out into the sky from a distance above the canyon walls.

"Ghost..." Kayla started, uneasy. "What's over there?"

"That's the Hellmouth," Ghost replied, noticing Kayla make a face at the name. "It's where the Hive live. There are several caverns under the Moon's surface, but they all lead back there."

"And the Hive are in...all of them?" Kayla asked, inspecting a large crack by her feet.

"Pretty much. They say, at the very bottom of the Hellmouth, lies the Monster of Luna. Oh! I've picked up Eli's energy signature. Come on!"

Ghost happily flew off. Kayla looked at the crack and shuddered before taking off after him.

"You know," Kayla said, squeezing her way through a narrow rocky crevice. "You really shouldn't run off. You keep me alive. Or...undead. Whichever it is."

"I know," Ghost said, floating back to her. "But I get so excited! Isn't it excited?"

"Not the word I would have used," Kayla replied dryly.

The pair continued down a narrow crevice and went lower down the cliff face before finally opening into a small shallow pit. The pit was lit up by a ghastly green glow that bathed Kayla with dread. At the far end of the pit was a large imposing steel door. Kayla feared what would have been left inside.

"This is it," Ghost said, just as unnerved. "The Temple of Crota. Can't say I've seen Hive architecture up close. Can't say I like it."

Kayla hesitantly made her way down a small rocky outcrop, spotting a Hunter lying before the door. Figuring it must be Eli, Kayla slide down the outcrop before dashing to the Guardian.

"Eli. Eli!" Kayla said urgently, trying to wake him up. "C'mon, you've got to wake up!"

Worried, Kayla removed the Hunter's hood and mask, gasping in shock at the sight. Eli's skin was grey and flaky, his eyes horrible sunken. His head was shrivelled and shrunken, resembling a large prune.

"Oh, my god..." Kayla said quietly, putting a hand to her helmeted mouth.

"Nothing..." Ghost said solemnly, scanning him. "All his Light has been ripped away. No sign of his ghost though..."

As Ghost scanned Eli's corpse Kayla felt a shiver run up her spine. Slowly she turned scanning the edges of the pit. In the distance, illuminated by the starlight, was a slender female Exo, covering in thin, torn Hunter attire. She seemed to be staring intently at Kayla with great curiosity. Slowly the Exp turned and walked off, disappearing into what looked like a shimmering tear in the air.

"What was...?" Kayla started, before being interrupted by Ghost.

"Contacts! Lots of contacts!" he said in a panicky voice. "We're about to get busy!"

Kayla watched in horror as the temple's doors slowly creaked open. Taking a deep calming breath Kayla readied a Vortex Grenade in her palm, awaiting the horde with baited breath. With an ear splitting shriek a swarm of Thrall flooded out of the temple doors.

Kayla threw a Vortex Grenade into the fray, picking off several Hive in the process before opening fire with her Pulsar, popping the heads of many Thrall. Backing up she punched and kicked the frenzied swarm away from her, blasting them with her Scattercast.

As she mowed down the swarm with her Nihilist Kayla moved up the hill, picking off the hordes of Thrall. One brave Thrall rushed her and made a grab for her Scattercast. It snarled as Kayla pulled back, managing to wrestle the shotgun away from her. With a triumphant screech the Thrall raised the gun high and snapped in two.

Kayla looked at it in shock before quickly killing it with a well placed headshot. Gliding up into the air she threw a powerful Nova Bomb at the horde, bodies flying everywhere. As the dust and purple embers settled Kayla walked up to her broken Scattercast.

"...On the bright side, you have _two_ clubs now," Ghost said.

Kayla gave an annoyed sigh. "Looks like a trip to the Cryptarchy." The Guardian stood and looked into the foreboding doorway of the Temple. "I'm gonna have to go in there aren't I?"

"I'm picking up Jimmy's reading from inside, so...yeah."

Kayla reloaded her Pulsar and Nihilist, setting off into the dimly lit corridors of the Temple of Crota. The inside of the temple reminded Kayla of old gothic cathedrals and she had to admit there was an eerie beauty to the dimly lit metal walls of the temple. The sound of dripping water was the only sound in the menacing silence and the damp rocks and strange barnacle like things that covered the corridors made it look like a recently unsubmerged dungeon. The glow of lanterns flickered and danced on the wall and Kayla found the bones of the Hive's many victims hidden in the shadows, all surrounded by the stench of death and rotting flesh. Kayla suddenly felt very far from home. As she skulked through the temple she spotted a faint light in the distance.

"Is that...?" Kayla asked.

"I think so," Ghost said, a little disheartened.

"Something up?"

"Just get Jimmy and go."

Kayla dashed across the hall, finding a small ghost in a pillar. Unhooking it from the Hive magitek that kept it bound she pulled the ghost to her chest, Nihilist in her free hand. Quickly and carefully Kayla rushed back out of the temple and as far away from it as possible. Eventually backtracking back to the old launch station Kayla finally put the ghost down.

"Jimmy?" Kayla said, stroking his shell. "Jimmy, it's alright."

"Kayla..." Ghost said, his seriousness surprising her. "Kayla, it's too late."

Kayla looked at Ghost before laying Jimmy down. Ghost looked intently at his fallen sibling, sighing and scanning him.

"Are you ok?" Kayla asked as Ghost worked.

"I know what the Hive do to ghosts," he replied. "They torture them in the most brutal ways possible. I can still see fragments of it in his memories."

"What are you hoping to find?"

"Something that could give us a clue as to where this library that Eli mentioned is. Hopefully...oh, no..."

"What?" Kayla asked, dreading the response.

"The Hive...they want to invade Earth! Kayla, we need to get back, now!"

* * *

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **City**_

 _ **Tower**_

"Are you sure that this data is correct?" Zavala asked, looking through Kayla's report.

"Yes, Sir," Kayla replied.

"This is...troubling...What is this library Eli was on about?"

"The World's Grave," Ikora said from a distance. "Supposedly it's the Hive's entire history. Or at least, according to Toland's journals, it is."

"Eli mentioned Toland before," Kayla murmured. "In his last video."

"Never mind him," Zavala ordered. "Rest up as best you can, we need you back on the Moon to find this library. It might be able to give us on edge on those foul creatures."

"Shouldn't we be sending more Guardians?" Kayla asked, curious about Zavala's request.

"The last time we sent an army they were slaughtered," Zavala replied sternly. "If we let a single Guardian slip in it'll be easier to escape with the information."

Kayla nodded. "I understand."

"You did well today," Cayde said from the doorway. "Go on, we'll handle things for now."

Kayla smiled at Cayde and left. Deciding to catch up on the amount of fiction she had missed Kayla went off to the Tower's library. The library was a large room with a towering dome ceiling filled to the brim with books from all periods. Most of the old books, which Kayla mused would be considered ancient history now, were behind glass cabinets. The library was filled primarily with Warlocks, though there were several Hunters and a few Titans in as well. Kayla felt at home here.

"Ah! W-Watch out!" came a timid voice from behind her.

Kayla whipped round in time to see a young woman holding a large stack of books stumble past. Kayla reached out and grabbed her, helping her up before picking up the books for her.

"No, let me..." the woman said.

"It's alright, I don't mind," Kayla said with a smile, before turning to her.

The woman in question was a small Exo Warlock. She had a youthful looking face with large blue eyes and a small mouth. The top of her head was blue with small spikes on the top and a barcode on her forehead, while her lower jaw was a light gray. Her robes were a warm orange.

"Are you sure?" the Exo asked.

"Don't worry about it," Kayla said. "I'm Kayla."

"H-Hayley-13. Do you like books?"

"Love 'em. Behind anime, but I don't think that exists anymore," Kayla chuckled before going through the books. "Nice pick. Poe, Shakespeare, Paterson...Twilight? _Twilight_ survived? Good grief..."

Hayley smiled slightly. "I-I like vampires."

"You should read Salem's Lot."

"The Stephen King one?"

"Yeah! That's the one. I personally think Christine is better."

"Do you By the Light of the Asteroid? Ever read By the Light of the Asteroid...?"

"Is that the one with the twins?"

"Yes! My favourite romance story."

"I was alive during the Collapse," Kayla said with a cheeky grin. "If you want I could tell about stories from back then."

"Oh, you could? That would be amazing!"

Kayla grinned, happy about her new friend.


	9. 1-9) The World's Grave

**A/N:** Mixed things up with Kranox. Enjoy!

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ is owned by Bungie, Activision and High Moon Studios, I only own Kayla, Delta, Hayley and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 02:** The Hive Ritual

 **Chapter 009:** The World's Grave

"So, how long have you been here?" Hayley asked as the pair walked to the Cryptarchy.

"About a month or so," Kayla replied. "It's...not what I expected."

Hayley laughed. "I don't think it's ever what people expect it to be. I'm still getting used to patrols. I get nervous in fights..."

"You'll get used to them. How long have you been here?"

"Not much longer. But I'm a Sunsinger," Hayley said sadly. "I'm not the right type for direct combat."

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Kayla said, smiling reassuringly.

Hayley looked at her before smiling. "Thanks...no one's said that before."

Kayla grinned back. "Wanna hang out later? I've got to grab a new gun from the Cryptarch. I'm sure all those Engrams I've found on patrol must have something, and then I've got to back to the Moon, but I should be...not dead after that, heh, heh."

Hayley nodded enthusiastically. "S-sure!"

The pair said their goodbyes and Kayla headed off to the Cryptarchy. The Cryptarchy, or Crypto-Archaeology, was a group of scientists dedicated to unlocking the histories of the Golden Age. Much of the Tower used them to unlock the Engrams that Guardians looted from various places. Engrams were data made form and were used in the Golden Age, from what Kayla could remember, to transport anything with ease by turning an object into physical data and decrypting it at its destination. While an Engram could be anything, the Cryptarchy would regularly hand over guns and armour to the Guardians that brought them as they figured the Guardians would find more use for them.

"Hello, Master Rahool," Kayla said cheerfully, walking up to the Cryptarchy's leader. "I got you this blue Engram."

The elderly blue skinned Awoken man didn't look up from the paperwork on his desk. "If you don't mind, Guardian, I am busy building a report on the old warp drives from the Kennedy Space Centre, I find that might be a _bit_ more important than whatever device you use to shoot aliens in the face."

"Ah, but shooting aliens in the face is what _got_ you those old warp drives in the first place."

Rahool didn't stop. "If we can't find out how NASA or the Russians built those colony ships we may never regain what we lost."

"Fine, fine," Kayla sighed. "But, if I don't have this gun then I can't really get you anything else from the Fallen, _including_ all those wonderful old warp drives from the Kennedy Space Centre. Did I mention the Speaker lifted Lunar Interdiction?"

The Cryptarch sighed, irritated, and put down his pen before looking up. "You have a knack for troublemaking, Kayla."

"I do my best," Kayla grinned, handing over the Engram. "Try not to make it suck so much. I heard about your incident with Cayde. And the doorknobs."

Master Rahool rolled his eyes before putting the Engram under a jury-rigged decryption machine. In a matter of seconds the Engram changed into a small orange and red railgun, a fusion rifle. Kayla frowned slightly, wishing for a shotgun.

"There you go," Rahool said, handing her the fusion rifle. "The NCV with accelerated coils, skip rounds and red dot-ORES. I hope you're happy."

"Thanks," Kayla smiled. "You know, you guys are the real heroes of the City."

Rahool let himself give a small smile. "If you've finished joking I'd really like to get back to my work."

"Noted," Kayla said, turning to leave.

After checking in with Hayley again Kayla returned to the Moon. Although reluctant she knew she couldn't keep the Hive at bay forever and the Warlock took off in her ship as quickly as possible, if only to get the ordeal over and done with. As she flew away from Earth Kayla leaned back in her seat, wishing she was back with Hayley or Delta.

"She seems nice," Ghost said as they approached the Moon.

"Yeah, she did," Kayla smiled. "I'm starting to feel comfortable in the City now."

"That's good," Ghost said encouragingly. "Soon you'll have lots of friends."

"Quality, Ghost," Kayla chuckled. "Not quantity."

Ghost laughed and faced the Moon, slightly apprehensive. "You know, we'll probably need to go deeper into the Moon's surface."

"That's what I'm dreading," Kayla sighed. "I know Delta's mind technique works...but it still doesn't make the fear go away."

"You'll only conquer that in time," Ghost said softly. "Pretty soon you'll be up there...punching Hive kings in the face. Or something."

Kayla looked at her with a wry smirk. "Punching? Really?"

Ghost chuckled awkwardly as the pair flew over the Ocean of Storms once more. Eventually the pair landed at the same point as last time with Kayla taking off up the hill. All that was going through her mind was the thought of descending deeper into the Hive's fortress. The thought of the Hive burrowing through the Moon's surface like a ravenous horde, coupled with the idea of facing them on their turf terrified her. It was different from the Skywatch. It was just a small group then. This time it was the full force of the Hive and all that was on Kayla's mind was _that_ day, surrounded by hordes of ravenous near-undead creatures that seemed to only seek to eat whatever they could get their claws in.

"Kayla," Ghost said.

"What is it?" Kayla said, snapping slightly.

"Your breathing...you seemed to be getting riled up unconsciously."

"Did I?"

"Just remember, we're in this together," Ghost said reassuringly. "I believe in you, so does the Vanguard."

Kayla looked at her friend and smiled. "Thanks."

Kayla headed through the old launch station, making a point to avoid the House of Exile that were busy skulking around and looting the place. As she snuck through the cracks and crevices in the Moon's landscape Kayla couldn't help but pity the Fallen even more. See two Dregs fight over the last Ether from a Servitor upset her more than anything else since the Warlock was reminded of the supposed situation that had led to the Fallen becoming the way they were, and just how lucky Earth had been able to survive in the way it had.

The Warlock found another old colony base which Ghost informed her led her to an entrance to the World's Grave. The pair figured that it would be best to avoid the Temple of Crota for now as the Hive would probably be prowling the entrance after a break in hours earlier, something Kayla was grateful for: the sooner she could leave, the better.

Behind the base was a deep pit leading to another door in the pit's wall. Kayla looked at Ghost uneasily. "So...what do we do when we get there?" she asked.

"According to the data I recovered from Jimmy, the key to the World's Grave is protected by a Knight named Kranox, 'the Graven'," Ghost explained. "I can lead us to him, but you'll have to kill him."

"Right," Kayla said, taking a deep breath before heading through the doorway.

Behind the door was a deep, curving cave that, like everything else, was silent except for dripping water and the occasional Hive screeching that put Kayla on edge more and more. Although every inch of her being was screaming at her to be as quick as possible she knew that charging head first into the Hive's fortress would be suicide. If there was one thing she had learned about the two factions she'd encounter thus far it was that the Fallen were predictable- the Hive weren't. And, right now, caution seemed like the best option as she traversed the eerie gloom of the catacombs.

Eventually the caves opened up into a large city-like structure, illuminated by lanterns hanging from the towering ceiling. Tall spires dominated the plaza and, like everything else that Kayla had seen here, was covered with bones and barnacles. Kayla was awestruck at the beauty of the Hive's architecture, even if a little disturbed.

"It's like a whole necropolis down here," Ghost gasped, equally awestruck.

Kayla moved silently through the plazas, slipping into another catacomb. Her heart was racing and she felt like every step could be her last. To her mind and memory being here was torture but she knew she had to go on, for _them_ at least. One thing did cross her mind though: where were the Hive?

"Ghost...I don't like this silence," Kayla noted.

"Me neither," Ghost said quietly. "The closer we get to Kranox, the more movement there is. It feels like we're heading into a trap."

Kayla swallowed hard. The thought of all the Hive's might waiting for her made her skin crawl. With no other choice, Kayla set off further down the caves.

* * *

 _ **The Moon**_

 _ **Hellmouth, Circle of Bones**_

Kayla continued to trek through the caves, uneasy and unsure of where she was going. Although she trusted Ghost, the fact that all the caves looked the same didn't help Kayla at all. Eventually she spotted some literal light at the end of the tunnel and took off at a run. As the light got closer so did the screeches of the Hive and Kayla was soon rushed by Thrall. Whipping out her NCV Kayla fired bursts of coiled electricity at the creatures, disintegrating them into ash as the blasts of electricity ricocheted off the cave walls.

"Woah..." Kayla gasped, holding her new gun with awe.

She set off, arriving at a gargantuan ledge a fair way down a gaping pit that stretched across for miles. Around the pit were large structures that almost resembled churches, or at the very least what the Hive classed as churches, and over the ledge Kayla could see a sickly green glow that seemed to go on forever, the tortured howls of the Hive ascending in the green smog that rose from the pit. Kayla turned away from the ledge, keeping as far back to the walls as she could. The Hive were busy patrolling the area, sniffing the air and licking their smacking lips out of greed. Something was off about these Hive, however: their armour was gold.

"Kranox is around here somewhere," Ghost said. "Regardless of the key I don't think that the Hive will let you through."

"So...kill them all?" Kayla asked rhetorically before opening fire with her Nihilist.

The first few Thralls and Acolytes fell to the machine gun's bullets but they were soon replaced with loud, angry Hive that rushed Kayla. Kayla dashed through the horde, switching to her Pulsar and taking down any Hive that dared to stray too close. Punching and Palm Striking her way through the horde she eventually came to a large circular arena. Throwing a Vortex Grenade to her left and using her Nihilist to kill any Hive on her right, Kayla allowed herself a few seconds breathing time.

"He's in there," Ghost said. "In case you were wondering."

Kayla looked into the arena. "Fitting, isn't it?"

"Just be careful. I doubt Kranox is inexperienced."

"Pfft! Aren't I always?"

Kayla slipped through a gap in the wall and edged her way to the arena. In the centre of the arena was a tall, ancient looking Knight with cracked red armour kneeling and praying to his sword. Kayla looked at him, slightly bewildered. The Knight, which she assumed to be Kranox, seemed to be muttering a sermon of sorts.

"And to the Prince, let it be glorious," Kranox murmured, eying Kayla as she approached him. "And to the King, let it be glorious. And to the Witch-Queen, let it be glorious. And to the God of War, let it be glorious. And to the Worms, let it be glorious. And to the Formless One, let it be glorious and holy and infinite."

"Kranox, the Graven?" Kayla asked.

Kranox's head jerked upwards. "You speak the Royal Tongue?"

"Ah...no," Kayla replied, pointing to Ghost. "Real time translation."

Kranox chuckled, mildly amused yet impressed. "It seems the Sky has a few tricks up her sleeve. Look at you...I can see the Light dripping from you like sweat, oozing from the creases in your armour." Kranox licked his dry, cracked half-formed lips, smacking them greedily. "Your Light burns bright, cancerous to the final shape."

Kayla blinked, confused about what Kranox was talking about. Coupled with the sermon Kranox seemed to talking like a fanatical cultist. Could he be religious? Could the entire species be religious? And if so, what kind of religion encouraged the Hive's disturbing behaviour.

"You don't understand, do you?" Kranox said mockingly. "You will fall under my blade. Your Light will be mine. I will take it, I _must_ take it."

"Is it just me, or has Kranox got a screw loose?" Ghost whispered nervously.

"You know why I'm here, don't you?" Kayla said, bluffing confidence.

"Indeed, why would one of the Sky's warriors target me?" Kranox growled gutturally. "The Keeper of the Grave. You want to know about us, don't you? Then let us talk." Kranox laughed as he stood, brandishing his sword as Light dripped off it like blood. "To fight is to have a conversation."

Kayla backed up a little as Kranox strode off to her. He swiped at Kayla with deadly precision, the Warlock having barely enough to move out of the. Kranox kept the pressure, swinging his sword heavily but expertly. Kayla glided backwards, keeping the centre of the arena behind her as Kranox tried to impale her. She'd felt the sting of a Hive sword, she did not want to feel it again.

Kayla switched to her NCV and fired several rounds of charged electricity at the Knight. Kranox stumbled, throwing up a shield of fire. Kayla smirked and glided up above, switching quickly to her Nihilist and opening fire on the Knight.

Kranox roared in a mix of pain and ecstasy as Kayla jumped off his head and landing behind him. "Ah! The Light has teeth! Let us worship! And let it be glorious!"

Kranox swung round, attacking Kayla with heavy sword swings. Kayla swirled round, ducking under the blade as it flew over her. She stumbled, allowing Kranox to ram the blade into her abdomen. Kayla screamed in pain as the sword sapped her strength, the dark power of the blade seeping into her body like venom. Fighting through the pain Kayla fired on Kranox again with the Nihilist. The Knight took the bullets with pleasure, stumbling as he bled out. Kayla watched, breathing staggered as Kranox fell back with a wide grin on his face.

"Glorious..." Kranox laughed weakly before passing away.

Kayla watched Kranox die before staring at his sword that was stuck in her chest. Taking a deep breath Kayla grasped the blade. Screaming enough to shake the entire Hellmouth Kayla ripped the sword away from her body and heaving it to the side of her. Ghost immediately flew to her, tending the wound that was left.

"What the hell are those swords made from?!" Kayla gasped, lying down from the shock. "Just touching it hurt!"

"You'll be fine for now," Ghost said. "I'd recommend you get checked out when we get back. For now we need to get the key."

"R-right," Kayla said, standing to her feet, abdomen aching still. She crouched next to Kranox and started to search. "What was Kranox rattling on about? He sounded like a cultist, a crazed cultist at that."

"The World's Grave should have some answers," Ghost said as Kayla pulled out a green orb from Kranox's body.

"Right. Let's go."

* * *

 _ **The Moon**_

 _ **Hellmouth, World's Grave**_

Kayla's skulking round the caverns of the Hellmouth finally paid off as she took down a few Thralls and two powerful Knights guarding a large ominous door. Holstering her Pulsar she grabbed the gargantuan door and inserted the key into a large gap. With a deafening ker-chunk the key turned, allowing Kayla to pull the door open. Beyond the door was a large circular room bathed in golden light. There was a pool in the centre and a large column that like some sort of arcane CPU at the back surrounded by Hive praying, offering their guns to the device. Kayla was reminded of what Kranox had said, a sickly feeling welling up in the stomach. What sort of faith was this?

Still, Kayla was surprised. The World's Grave being a library, Kayla had expected it to be a gargantuan room filled with arcane, forbidden books. She was slightly stunned that the Hive's library was a single glowing pillar.

Kayla quietly crept up on the Hive, NCV drawn. They were all muttering sermons of their own but Kayla caught several names including 'Oryx', 'Akka' and 'Crota' which popped up several times. The only one that came up more than Crota was a title: 'The Formless One'.

"You don't think the Formless One could be the Darkness, do you?" Ghost whispered, barely audible.

" _That_...would be disturbing and terrifying in equal measure," Kayla whispered, just as quiet. "But, I think we should take care of the Hive here for now."

Kayla threw a Vortex Grenade into the crowd, watching them panic and run for cover. She managed to pick off the Acolytes with her Pulsar and took down the Knight with the NCV with relative ease. Finally she turned and held Ghost out to the pillar.

"I'm hoping this works the same those Cosmodrome computers," Ghost said, looking around the pillar. "I'm not even sure _how_ this all works."

"Scan it?" Kayla suggested.

"It's not just 'scanning'," Ghost said patronizingly.

"Sass me later; let's just get the stuff and go."

Ghost nodded and floated in front of the glowing core. "When I break in they're going to come after us. You'll need to be ready."

Kayla reloaded her weapons and readied herself. "Go."

Ghost set himself to work, hacking into the World's Grave. Within seconds a loud roar shook the caverns and several Hive poured through the doorway to the World's Grave. Kayla stayed by Ghost, the image of Jimmy in her mind, and fired on the Thrall that charged her. They fell to her Pulsar with ease, allowing Kayla to fire on the Acolytes that stayed by the doorway. She hid behind a pillar, taking pot-shots at the Acolytes when they poked their heads out. Gunfire and whatever magitek the Hive used were exchanged across the World's Grave and Kayla did her best to keep Ghost safe as the Hive fired on him as well.

Kayla eventually brought out her heavy weapon, drowning the Acolytes in a sea of bullets. A Wizard suddenly appeared, flying over the dead Acolytes with a sadistic chuckle and launching a volley of dark blasts at her. Kayla skidded across the floor to another pillar, hoping to get better shot at the Wizard, only to come face to face with a glowing blue Thrall. Before she could fire on the creature it exploded violently, knocking Kayla back into the pillar.

Kayla quickly stumbled to her feet, dazed. Her vision was fuzzy and a sharp ringing filled her ears. Grabbing her Nihilist, Kayla noticed a Knight with a Boomer firing blasts of electricity at Ghost, who was doing his best to dodge and hack at the same time.

"K-Kayla!" he yelled, panicking. " _KAYLA, GET UP!_ "

Kayla charged the Knight, barrelling into it and grabbing its waste, managing to tackle it to the ground. The Knight growled and punched her in the face, cracking her helmet. Kayla screamed, firing into the Knight with her Nihilist. It groaned weakly before dying and Kayla turned her attention to the Wizard. The Wizard floated away, with Kayla giving chase, switching to her fusion rifle and firing bursts of electricity at it. The Wizard howled in pain as the electricity tore through its body. As it floated there Kayla reached up and smacked it with a Palm Strike. The Wizard collapsed as Void light took over. I died on the floor with a pitiful shriek.

Kayla looked over at Ghost. He was hidden behind the pillar. "I-Is it safe to come out?"

"Yeah, they're dead," Kayla replied, walking up to him.

"Good. Jeez, that was scary..."

"Sorry you had to put up with that," Kayla chuckled sheepishly. "Didn't see the exploding...thing. Anyway, what did you find?"

"A _lot_ of stuff," Ghost replied dramatically.

"Define 'a lot'."

"They've got some much information here," Ghost elaborated, turning to the Grave. "So much they've broken the Bekenstein limit."

"Which is?"

"Impossible, for a start. The Bekenstein limit is the literal ceiling of how much information can be stored in a given space, the World's Grave just...it _can't_ exist!"

"And yet there it is," Kayla murmured, motioning to the computer.

"I know. It's scary."

"So what did you find?"

"The Hive have existed for billions of years, since the dawn of the universe. Or, near enough. Anyway, they've seen thousands of worlds taken by the Darkness. They've been seeding Earth for centuries, probably since the Collapse. They've been waiting for their gods to return...specifically one named 'Crota'. There's more, but it's not safe here. We need to go."

* * *

 _ **Later...**_

Kayla sat back in her ship on her way back to Earth, calming herself with a range of breathing techniques. She should've become a psychiatrist the way she was going. It was easy to diagnose her current problems, but then what made sense in this world. Nothing did anymore and if Kayla was entirely honest with herself she was still afraid of what lay ahead. The Hive seemed to be the pinnacle of her problems but something told Kayla they weren't.

"You did good today," Ghost said gently, floating beside her. "You're dealing with Hive better by the day."

"Doesn't make the feelings go away," Kayla sighed. "I still get anxious and scared."

"I don't think that will go away, but then...you _know_ this. You're a doctor after all."

"No, I'm not!" Kayla snapped. "I've killed so many Fallen and Hive, how could I be a doctor when the very _basis_ of the oath is 'do no harm!'" She sat back in here chair, holding her head. "I dunno what I am now."

"...You're my friend," Ghost said reassuringly. "And, even if it doesn't seem like it now, you're a hero to the City."

"Tch...I don't feel like one."

The pair sat in silence before Kayla groaned. "So," she said. "The Hive are religious. Good grief, that is terrifying."

"Mmm...some sort of religion set up around war."

"Oh, that just gets better and better! What was that god's name?"

"Crota. The Monster of Luna."

Kayla looked at the view Earth before kicking the accelerator up a notch. "I'll remember that name," she growled. "I'll kill him for what they did to Earth."

Ghost gazed at Kayla's face. She meant this. But that also worried Ghost immensely. The Hive seemed to grow by feast on the Light. How powerful must this 'Crota' be? Crota personally slayed thousands of Guardians in the Great Disaster and Ghost didn't want Kayla to be subjected to that.

"I've also pulled something else from the Grave. Something we'll need to alert the Speaker to."

"Oh?"

"The Hive are reaching out to the Traveller."

"That's vague..."

"I'm not sure how, but they're doing some sort of remote energy transference."

"And in English?"

"They're draining the Traveller of Light!"

"...That's bad."

"Very."

* * *

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **Tower**_

It was sunset and the Speaker was gazing over the Traveller, praying silently. The sound of footsteps thudding up the staircase to his study didn't deter him. He knew instantly who they belonged to but he continued his prayer. He knew Kayla would wait.

When the Speaker was finished he turned to face Kayla. "Guardian," he greeted. "How are you?"

"Bit out of breath," Kayla panted. The Speaker handed Kayla a small glass of water, which she gratefully drank. "We've hacked the World's Grave."

"The Hive's library? That is fantastic news."

"Yeah, great. Look, we're in trouble."

"How so?"

"The Hive...they're planning to invade Earth. Soon."

The Speaker paused for a moment, shocked but not surprised. The Hive had been up to something since the Great Disaster and he didn't like how Crota had just disappeared like that. The Speaker gave a calm, composed sigh then asked. "Explain."

"The Hive are planning to invade Earth," Ghost repeated. "But we can at the very least delay it. The data we've recovered from the World's Grave show that the Hive are conduct some sort of ritual on the Traveller. It would weaken the Traveller's shields enough for the Hive to attack the City."

"I see..." the Speaker said. "This is deeply concerning. Leave the data with me. I will find out just how the Hive are doing this. Be prepared for your next mission."

"The Grave mentioned a god named Crota," Kayla said. "Who is he?"

"The God-Knight," the Speaker said, gazing up at the moon as it appeared in the sky. "He slaughtered countless individuals in that battle. We've lost so much to him. I'm not even sure he can be killed."

"Has anyone tried?"

"Once. Just once. There was a team called Fireteam Noble. Eriana-3, Eris Morn, Omar Agah, Vell Tarlowe, Sai Mota and...Toland the Shattered." The Speaker said the last name with disgust, which made Kayla wonder what Toland had done. The Speaker contained. "They descended the Hellmouth into Crota's domain."

"And what happened to them?" Kayla asked, uneasy about the answer.

"They never returned. All that remains of them are scattered recordings that had been picked up on the radiowaves. Vell was crushed, Omar was stripped of his light. Toland...I believe he was just there to study the Hive. Sai fell in the caverns. I believe Eriana made it the furthest but, like the others, she fell."

"What about Eris?" Kayla asked, noticing the missing member.

"I don't know. Hers is the strangest; we keep getting fragments of radio static from the Hellmouth. Then nothing for weeks at a time. I don't know if it's just the Hive playing tricks, reaching out to lure more Guardians to the Moon. I can't risk unnecessary deaths. You be careful, Guardian."

Kayla nodded then retired for bed.


	10. 1-10) Shrine of a God

**A/N:** Holy crap, this has clocked 1,000 views already.

Also, I have a front cover.

Also, also if you want brief spoilers on the direction of this story check out my profile page for the Sagas and Arcs and synopses. If you don't want to know, don't look.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ is owned by Bungie, Activision and High Moon Studios. I own Kayla, Delta, Hayley and other OCs. Cover drawn by little-bunny-sweetseek. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 02:** The Hive Ritual

 **Chapter 010:** Shrine of a God

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **City**_

 _ **Tower**_

The next day Kayla was sat eating in one of the Tower's many cafes, enjoying a large fry up of bacon, sausages, eggs, beans and toast. As she shovelled the greasy breakfast down her throat Ghost watched, wondering how such an unhealthy breakfast could be so pleasing for her. But then, Guardians were very odd anyway. The amount of times the pair of them had caught Guardians dancing on Cayde's table were too many to count.

"Kayla," Ghost said as she guzzled down a glass of orange juice. "What's with all...that?"

Kayla glanced at Ghost, mouth full of bacon. She swallowed and wiped her mouth before answering. "The fry up is the stable breakfast of a true Brit. The greasiest, most unhealthy breakfast ever but my _God_ it's worth it!"

"You should be glad you're immune to heart disease."

"I've been dead for 300 years, I'm allowed this!"

Ghost gave an exasperated chuckle and continued to watch. It was then that the pair were interrupted by a blue ghost that came flying up to Kayla's face. Kayla stared at the ghost as it expected her. Then it turned.

"Hey!" the ghost yelled angrily. "I found her! She doesn't look too bright!"

"Hey!" Kayla protested, spitting out chewed sausage. "I have...was going to get a doctor's degree!"

"I don't care, Sweetcheeks!" the ghost angrily yelled. "Just cuz _you_ defeated Riksis and Sepiks doesn't make ya all that great, alright?!"

The ghost was then picked up by an Exo hand. Kayla looked up, spotting Hayley dressed in a red and white flowery midi dress looking overly embarrassed and apologetically. The ghost, Kayla presumed to be Hayley's, was busy moving around, its speech muffled. Whether Hayley was covering some sort of speaker or if it was a logic fallacy on the ghost's part Kayla couldn't tell. She wasn't sure of how ghosts talked.

"He's your ghost?" Ghost asked, slightly bewildered.

"S-sorry!" Hayley apologized. "Crusher is a bit...full on..."

Ghost and Kayla looked at each, then Hayley.

"Your ghost's name is 'Crusher'?" Kayla asked, more bewildered.

"It makes him feel important," Hayley explained sheepishly. "Crusher, behave!"

Crusher stopped moving, his eye looking up at her. Finally the ghost sighed, begrudgingly complying. Hayley gave a sigh before sitting down with Kayla.

"You're working on the Moon aren't you?" she asked eventually.

"Mhmm," Kayla said, finishing her breakfast. "What's up?"

"I-I think I might have found something that might be important." Hayley pulled out an old cassette player. "It's a recording from the studies of Osiris."

"Osiris?" Kayla asked. "Who was he?"

"Osiris was the previous commander of the Vanguard," Ghost said. "But he was exiled when he started questioning the true natures of the Darkness and the Traveller. He hasn't been seen since; some people think he's dead. A large group of Guardians left for Mercury when he was exiled and formed a group called the Brotherhood of Osiris. I don't know much beyond that."

Hayley nodded in agreement, and then pressed the play button.

A man, middle aged by the sound of his voice, spoke. He sounded knowledgeable, calm and serious. "Hive study number 103. While the Hive are not my forte I have conversed with Toland. We had some...interesting debates about the true nature of the Darkness. The man is insane, terribly so, but he also had interesting knowledge that cannot be ignored. To do so would be ignorance.

"I spoke to Toland after my travels to Mercury. In the Vex architecture I saw a vision, one of many, that spoke about a Hive sect known as the Spawn of Crota. Golden guardians of death. I saw only the dark and the death of all things as a voice spoke to me. It said that the Spawn of Crota will snuff out the light, and Oryx's reign shall be unfettered. The Speaker believes myself and my views to be heretical, blasphemous. He thinks me as mad as Toland, but I have only the City's interests at heart. Even if he does not see that.

"Toland said that Oryx's name comes up to many to be ignored. The man has ulterior motives that much is clear, but I am inclined to believe him on this. So I've studied the Hive and realised they have a tithing system, where the Light they take from their victims is passed up to stronger Hive, eventually reaching their gods. Vital to this system are the Shrines of Oryx, one exists in the Hellmouth on the Moon. While the Hive's crusade will not be stopped, it can be slowed down here. The Shrines of Oryx _must_ be destroyed."

The recording stopped and the two girls looked at each other. "So, long story short," Kayla said. "There is a shrine. To a god. On the Moon. You think it's in our best interests to destroy it?"

Hayley nodded. "Yeah, two birds with one stone."

Kayla looked at the girl. "Alright," she said after a moment. "C'mon, Ghost, let's go."

* * *

 _ **The Moon**_

 _ **Hellmouth**_

Kayla arrived at the Hellmouth with little trouble. As they approached the gargantuan gothic structure they could hear the sounds of gunfire in the distance. Kayla eyed Ghost who was focusing on the noise. After a moment Ghost blinked.

"Well, the good news is I have picked up an energy signature," he said. "Followed the trail of 'tithed' Light. Osiris was right, there is a shrine here. But it's further in the Hellmouth than we've ever been. There's also some interesting news."

"Oh?" Kayla asked as she set off.

"The House of Exile is knocking around down there. Don't know why, but something's got them riled up. I'll stay on it, but expect a lot of firefights down there."

Kayla's trip into the Hellmouth went without a hitch. She did however notice a lot of Fallen corpses littering the rocky grounds. Kayla crouched to inspect the injuries of a Dreg. Hive magitek burns and several deep cuts and bite marks all covered its body. Kayla sighed and went to inspect another. It had the same injuries.

Kayla shook her head and set off down the tunnels, coming into a large a metallic room. Several Thrall were there, eating the corpses of the Fallen. Kayla swallowed sick, ignoring the sight and slipped down a large broken door, following a rocky tunnel until she came to the large cliff edge where she had encountered Kranox. There were Fallen and Hive busy battling it out across the expanse.

"Let me guess," Kayla said, half-laughing. "Across there?"

"Yup," Ghost replied. "Listen to this though. I picked it up from a Baron named Frigoris. He seems to be the one leading the assault here."

Kayla made her way to a rock, listening to the message from Frigoris.

"My exiles!" he hissed over the radio. "Do not let the Hive retake this ground! We must push if we are to eke out an existence on this rock! Double Ether for any that can defeat the leaders of this pit!"

Kayla looked up at Ghost as a cheer from the Fallen echoed through the Hellmouth. "Is Frigoris an idiot?"

"That or desperate," Ghost replied. "Maybe both. Barons don't come out of their Skiffs too often though."

"Hmm...Wonder what's prompted this," Kayla mused. "I'm gonna assuming he's on the same level as Naksis?"

"Yeah. It's probably best we use this opportunity to assassinate him."

Kayla nodded and sprinted off deeper into the caverns, taking down any Hive and Fallen unfortunate enough to stumble before her. As she progressed deeper and deeper into the Hellmouth Kayla had realized that, with each terrifying encounter with the Hive her fears lessened. Instead it seemed to be replaced by something new, a burning sensation that appeared to sink to the pit of her stomach. She couldn't quite place it but then the distraction of aliens trying to murder her occupied the forefront of her mind.

Kayla's stint in the caverns was broken up by the sound of gunfire erupting from a cavern below her. As she followed the cave she ended up coming out to a gargantuan, deep cavern filled with shimmering dark green crystals. There were a few pillars strung together by metallic bridges that towering over the pit below her.

' _Don't fall_ ' Kayla thought to herself as she crossed the first bridge. A tremendous, deafening roar echoed through the cavern, shaking it and catching Kayla by surprise. Slowly she looked at Ghost, who'd ended up cowering behind her.

"I don't even want to know what they're keeping down here..." he said nervously.

"Just...ignore that...for now," Kayla said between deep breaths, mostly for her own benefit.

Continuing on Kayla crossed the chasm, following the racket of the gunfire closely. She eventually came out into a large circular hall seeing a large firefight between the Fallen House of Exile and the Spawn of Crota, now that she knew their name. The Fallen were closest to her, lead by a large Captain in a torn green cape and a broken, pseudo-ornamental horned helmet. Kayla assumed that this was Baron Frigoris.

"Destroy them!" Frigoris hissed, seething with fury. "Burrow into that shrine and flush them out! If I see anyone cowering I'll make you _wish_ the Hive had got to you! Now kill them, or I'll demote all the Vandals to Dregs, and all the Dregs to something even more worthless than you already are!"

Kayla watched from behind a rock. "I take it the shrine must be somewhere on the other end of this hall. And that must be Baron Frigoris."

"It does look that way," Ghost agreed. "But something's not right...I have records of a Frigoris in the House of Kings..."

"You think it could be the same one?"

"I don't know...But if it _is_ why would he be here among the Exiles?"

Kayla prepared her NCV. "Maybe it's a common name like...like John Smith?"

"...I've never heard anyone called that."

Kayla stared at him. "Oh, right, 300 year time gap. Just trust me."

"If you say so."

Kayla took in a deep breath and charged Frigoris. The Baron turned at the last minute, screaming in panic at the sight of the Warlock charging towards him. Kayla barrelled into him, knocking him over and aiming her NCV at him.

"D-Dregs! V-Vandals!" he stammered in fright. "S-Stop this thing!"

The Exiles stared at each other and the Hive took the opportunity to position themselves deeper in the tunnels. Kayla gauged from the tension in the room that Frigoris was not a well liked Baron. Frigoris himself seemed to notice this and growled deeply. "Do it, or it will starve your young of Ether!"

The Fallen looked at each other again before the Dregs charged Kayla, pushing her off Frigoris and stabbing her with their daggers. Kayla fired her NCV upwards, knocking the Dregs off and killing them. She switched to her Pulsar and took at the four Vandals that were firing at her with their Shock Rifles. With Frigoris' troops dead Kayla turned her attention to Frigoris.

"N-Now, wait just a second!" Frigoris stammered, pointing his sword at her. "I know what you do!"

"Oh, go on," Kayla said sarcastically. "Tell me. I'm dying to know."

"Y-You destroy our gods! Starve our young! I won't die here!"

"Yeah, skip all that, why are you down here?" Kayla asked.

Frigoris shifted uncomfortably. "I see no reason to tell you!"

Kayla sighed, pulling out her Nihilist. "Alright, let's get this over with."

Frigoris growled and charged her, only to be immediately brought down by Kayla's machine gun. He collapsed in a bloodied heap on the floor. Kayla took a moment to compose herself then moved on. "Well, that's one less Baron to worry about," she said as she disappeared into a long, winding, mechanical tunnel.

When they came out of the end they were in a room that looked something akin to a church. Across the chasm in the centre was an orb like structure encased in some sort of religious shrine light by dozens of large lanterns.

"That must be the Shrine of Oryx," Kayla said.

"Judging from the energy signature it's giving off, I think you're right," Ghost said back.

Kayla took off down the curved hallway, taking down the Thrall and Acolytes that had escaped earlier. Using the various walls as cover Kayla took down the Thrall with fast headshots and flushed the Acolytes out with a Vortex Grenade. She took them down with cold, brutal efficiency then pushed down the hall, coming face to face with a Wizard. The Wizard shrieked and fired blasts of pure darkness at her. Kayla switched to her NCV and glided up to the Wizard before blasting it to oblivion.

"Uh...you ok?" Ghost asked with a hint of worry when she landed.

"Yeah," she said bitterly. "Let's just keep going."

Ghost was worried about the uncharacteristic coldness of his Guardian. Just before they got to the shrine proper he stopped in front of Kayla.

"No," he said firmly. "What is wrong? Is it your fear?"

Kayla gritted her teeth before heaving a relenting sigh. "I watched my family get torn apart by the Hive that day. But now, being here on the Moon and seeing what they've done...I don't even think I'm scared of them now. I hate them. I hate them with every fibre of my being."

Ghost stared at her for a moment. "...I understand," he said eventually. "Just don't let it consume you. Guardians are just as much prey to the Darkness as anyone else."

Kayla nodded, relaxing slightly. Even if she was in the deepest pit of the Hellmouth she always knew that she had Ghost there with her. "Let's go destroy this thing then."

The Warlock headed up to the Shrine of Oryx. It hummed deeply, an ominous metallic thrum emanating from it like a heartbeat. Like anything else the Hive made Kayla was unsure of this was science of magic, however, she'd learned that this world defied common sense now and she decided to chalk it up to being a disturbing combination of the two.

"Let me out under it," Ghost said. "I'll search for a weakness."

Kayla complied and braced herself for the inevitable fight. As Ghost murmured about transdimensional vortexes Kayla felt the stagnant air around her pick up. Peeking out from behind one of the shrine's supporting pillars Kayla watched in horror as the air around her was literally carved in two. Out of the dark green misty rupture stepped a gargantuan Knight, at least the size of a small house. It was a translucent green and covered with thick purple armour. The Knight towered over her.

"I am Sardok, Eye of Oryx," the Knight boomed. "Who dares to defile the shrine of God?" Kayla readied her Pulsar. Sardok laughed haughtily. " _You?_ No Guardian has ever made it this far. Your Light burns bright. I wonder how it would look on the end of my blade?"


	11. 1-11) A Stranger's Call

**A/N:** Another shorter chapter this time round. And look, more boss music!

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ is owned by Bungie, Activision, Vicarious Visions and High Moon Studios. I only own Kayla, Hayley, Delta and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 02:** The Hive Ritual

 **Chapter 011:** A Stranger's Call

 _ **The Moon**_

 _ **Ocean of Storms**_

 _ **Hellmouth, Shrine of Oryx**_

 **(Visage of Oryx- Destiny OST)**

 **SARDOK**

 **EYE OF ORYX**

"Ah, _fuck!_ " Kayla cried as the gargantuan Knight chased Kayla around the shrine, firing on her with an equally large Boomer, his sword sheathed on his back.

Ghost watched his Guardian struggle to gain distance against the so-called 'Eye of Oryx'. When Sardok had begun chasing Kayla she had motioned him to remain silent and continue his work to shut down the shrine. Remembering what had happened to Jimmy, Ghost reluctantly remained quiet and worked to undo whatever it was the shrine did, a not so easy task since the Hive's technology seemed to ignore basic laws of science. Wires seemed to channel some sort of weird arcane magic, and the device that sent the Light out into...whatever it was contacting in space worked like some sort of teleporter. None of it made sense!

While Ghost tried his best to find the shrine's weakness Kayla continued to try and out run the Knight, eventually making her way to a small alcove at the back of the Shrine. She saw Sardok kneel down and stretch his giant hand into the gap.

"I can practically taste the Light oozing from you," he growled, though Kayla could hear the disgusting smacking of his cracked lips. Slowly Sardok pulled his arm back and peeked into it. "There you are." He chuckled sadistically. "You have caught the attention of Oryx now, Light-Bringer."

Kayla's heart was in her mouth as she stood, frozen in fear at the sight of Sardok. How? How do I defeat something that big?

 _Just shoot it_ she heard Adam's voice say.

Kayla made a face at the cockiness of her memory of Adam before pulling out her Nihilist and firing relentlessly at Sardok's face. Sardok roared in pain, shielding his face from the bullets. Kayla took the opportunity to back out from the other end of the alcove and sprinted down the other end, switching to her Pulsar.

' _I'm gonna need to get a better pulse rifle,_ ' she thought to herself.

Sardok stumbled back across the shrine, glaring at her from his right and top eye. Kayla had managed to blind the left one.

"I'd make a joke about blinding the Eye," Kayla taunted. "But I feel it would be inappropriate!"

"Your jokes will mean nothing once I've skinned the Light from you and have your skin hanging above this shrine!" Sardok roared, firing on her with his Boomer.

Kayla outran the blasts, finding herself out in the open. Having no choice Kayla opened fire on Sardok with her Pulsar. All the bullets seemed to do was mildly irritate the Knight. He chuckled darkly and fired on Kayla once again. Kayla grunted as she skidded along the floor trying to avoid the blasts.

She made a point to stay away from the shrine proper. As long as Ghost had minimum distractions he could find a weakness while she dealt with Sardok and she knew that Sardok would automatically target Ghost himself should he know where Ghost was. That was something she didn't want to happen, especially this far down in the Hellmouth.

Kayla aimed a Vortex Grenade at Sardok's face before backing up again, hiding in another alcove. Sardok growled angrily and stumbled out of the vortex. Looking around, Sardok began to stalk the shrine menacingly.

"Hiding won't work, Lightbringer!" Sardok seethed, practically foaming from the mouth. "I can _smell_ you!" Sardok sniffed the air dramatically to prove his point. "Oh, I can taste your Light on my lips!"

Kayla felt nauseous, a shiver running up her spine. She peeked out, watching Sardok stomp around trying to find her. To her horror Sardok began looking at the shrine, where Ghost was oblivious to what was happening behind him.

"Ohohoho!" Sardok laughed. "What have we here?"

Ghost was immediately filled with dread, fleeing into a small crack in the shrine as the large Knight made a grab for him. Now Ghost realized how Jimmy must have felt. He knew what the Hive was capable of. They didn't just eat Light, the despised it and would regularly torture Guardians and Ghosts alike for even smelling of it. Ghost paralyzed with fear in the crack, literally shaking.

" _HEY!_ " Kayla screamed, running out from her hiding place. " _LEAVE HIM ALONE!_ "

Sardok turned only to be hit square in the face with a large Nova Bomb. Ghost took the opportunity to get out of Sardok's reach. Sardok stumbled; his fall shaking the shrine enough for small rocks to crash around Kayla. Ghost watched Kayla fire on Sardok in absolute fury with her NCV, her voice echoing in his mind.

 _I died once, I'm not dying again_.

Watching the relentlessness of her attack Ghost was inclined to believe her.

Sardok struggled under the hail of bullets he was now under from Kayla's machine gun. Slowly he got to his feet and threw down his Boomer. Instead he drew his sword, a sword that could rip holes in reality itself. Sardok angrily swung his sword down on Kayla, the Warlock diving to the left and making a break for behind him. Sardok roared in anger, trying to punch the ground where she was but only succeeding in smacking into the shrine itself. Sardok looked up in horror at what he had done, immediately kneeling and entering a state of prayer as an apology.

Kayla took this opportunity to catch her breath.

"Ghost?! Are you alright?!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. Ghost gave a small flash of a light from a shadow corner of the shrine as a response, not wanting to give away his position. Kayla gave him a thumbs up then reloaded her Nihilist. "Shit!" she muttered, realizing she was down to her last heavy ammo synth. "Better make this count."

Kayla ran out again, throwing another grenade at Sardok. "Hey! Ugly!" she yelled, thinking to herself, ' _I need to think of better mid-battle banter_.'

Sardok growled and exited his state of prayer but was immediately set upon by Kayla's Nihilist. When that was empty Kayla switched to her NCV and fired blast after blast of electricity at the giant Knight.

Sardok grunted in pain with every lance of electricity that hit him. He growled, swinging his sword around but this time it was lacking precision and seemed to be more of a desperate attempt to stop Kayla. He didn't know how it had happened but this _Lightbringer_ had overpowered him! How had that happened to him? He was an Eye of Oryx! And _EYE!_ He was a commander of Oryx's spies! He could this weak Lightbringer defeat _him?!_

Sardok collapsed, grasping the injury the Nova Bomb had left. As he did he found himself face to face with Kayla. She was glaring at him from behind her helmet and holding another Nova Bomb. It crackled with furious energy.

"You disgust me," Kayla spat.

Sardok could only glare at her in fury as she threw the Nova Bomb at his face. As he disintegrated into ash he let out an almighty roar that deafened Kayla. Once he was gone the shrine fell silent once more.

 **(End Visage of Oryx)**

Ghost hesitantly flew down. "Is it safe?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kayla said with a smile. "He's gone. Did you find a weakness?"

"Yup," Ghost replied. "Though, I think Sardok punching the darn thing helped. There was some sort of shield matrix around it that I removed. Just fire on it."

Kayla nodded and unleashed a volley from her NCV. After a few blasts the shrine blew up, shards of metal flying everywhere.

"It worked," Ghost said. "But...something bugs me."

"What?"

"The shrine...it was communicating with something out there. I picked up some messages from the shrine. I think it was communicating to their god or king..."

"Not...one or the other?" Kayla asked, uneasy.

"No, the word was difficult to translate," Ghost replied. " _Both_ words are the translation."

Kayla stared at the destroyed shrine. "Oryx..." she murmured quietly, remembering what Sardok had said.

"What?"

"Whoever it is, it's still out there," Kayla said before shaking her head with a sigh. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **City**_

 _ **Tower**_

When Kayla returned to the City it was well into the middle of the night. Deciding on an takeaway pizza for a late night dinner, she spent the night watching an old film that had been salvaged by the Cryptarchy Kayla ended up falling asleep after that.

The next morning Kayla went out to find Hayley, wanting to let her know the good news. She eventually found Hayley practicing her Sunsinger powers in one of Shaxx's training rooms. Kayla stood in the doorway as she watched Hayley throw several Solar Grenades, the bombs lighting up like bright flares that nearly blinded Kayla. As she watched the Exo girl train Kayla noticed that, for such a timid girl, Hayley pushed herself a great deal. Kayla was impressed by the girl's power, but noticed that she wasn't too skilled at using it. It was then that Hayley collapsed, exhausted. Kayla immediately ran to her.

"You're pushing yourself too hard again, Hayley," Crusher said, rough but still in comforting manner. "You're not useless, you don't need to strain yourself. Even Exos have limits!" The ghost noticed Kayla run up to her. "Oh, look! Come to gloat at her like everyone else?!"

"What?" Kayla asked with a frown. "No, she's my friend. I want to make sure she's alright." Crusher huffed and let Kayla check Hayley over. "I'm not scientist or a robotics expert, but I think you've got fatigue," Kayla said after inspecting her. "Crusher's right, you need to stop overworking yourself."

"S-sorry," Hayley said, standing up with Kayla's help. "It's not easy...people think Sunsingers are a little...useless and I'm not that great at fighting. The Vanguard mostly has me on salvage runs or supporting other Guardians in the field."

"Well, what can you do?"

"I have an ability called Radiance; it essentially empowers Guardians by sharing the excess Light I can produce. Beyond that I just spam grenades. I do get cool wings out of it, though."

Kayla laughed. "See, it's not that bad."

"Other Guardians don't seem to think so..."

"Look, just because you're better at _supporting_ others doesn't make you useless," Kayla said, hugging Hayley. "You just need to have more confidence in yourself. That comes with time, I know that, but you _can_ do it. And if anyone says anything different you just point them in my direction, ok?" Kayla gave a sly wink, making Hayley giggle. Kayla continued on, more serious this time. "Now...about the Shrine of Oryx?"

"W-What about it?" Hayley asked nervously.

"I destroyed it, don't worry," Kayla said. "But...I want to know why you came to _me_. Why not take it the Vanguard or the Speaker?"

"I..." Hayley started, sighing. "You were kind to me. The Vanguard don't trust me enough, they think I'm..." Hayley stopped herself when Kayla levelled a stern glare at her. "They don't think I'm capable enough. I like being a scholar, not so much fighting. But Ikora is impatient and Cayde teases me a lot. Frankly, the Speaker scares me. I don't have much in the way of friends, but _you_...You defeated Riksis and Sepiks! And you didn't treat me any different. I thought if anyone was capable it would be you!"

"Believe me, I'm not that great!" Kayla said with a laugh. "Fair enough. But I'm not going to have you training for nothing."

"W-what do you mean?" Hayley stammered.

"Let me think. Might have you tag along with me, help you grow some metaphorical balls. Now, do Exos eat anything? I've got plenty of Glimmer and there's an _awesome_ spicy ramen stand in the City."

Hayley frantically nodded.

* * *

 _ **The next day...**_

Kayla awoke the next day with a message from the Speaker request her to meet him in his study. After getting cleaned and dressed Kayla hurried over to the Tower North to meet with the Speaker. He was sat reading a book on the Light which Kayla didn't even want to attempt to read. After waiting patiently for the Speaker the masked man walked over to Kayla.

"How are you faring, Guardian?" he asked softly.

"I'm good," Kayla replied, nodding. "I don't think I've quite come to terms with all this just yet though...but otherwise, good."

The Speaker nodded in understanding. "It must be hard for you. Guardians rarely remember their past, for you to have such vivid memories seeing all this must be incredibly distressing for you to deal with."

"It was...but I think I'm ok now."

"And what about the Hive? Do you still have that fear?"

Kayla's face turned bitter. "No. All I want is to see the Hive dead."

The Speaker noted this change, shifting slightly. "I understand your detest for them, but you cannot let that rule your head when you are surrounded by them. It will only bring your downfall."

Kayla nodded. "I understand."

The pair stood in silence for a moment before the Speaker spoke again. "I've analyzed the data that your ghost stole from the World's Grave. It poses some...disturbing revelations." The man turned to Kayla, speaking in a grave voice. "The Hive have acquired a shard of the Traveller, and are using it in a ritual to drain the Traveller of its Light."

"But that means..." Ghost said from Kayla shoulder, utterly terrified.

"Yes. No new ghosts can be born, and the shield the Traveller has around the City will fail. We will be at the complete mercy of the Hive when they decide to attack. I don't know if we can stop their invasion force, but stopping this ritual may give us the breathing room needed to fight back. The data reveals it is being hid in a place known as the Chamber of Night, deep in the Hellmouth. For the sake of the City you _must_ stop that ritual!"

Kayla paused, taking it. The sudden weight of her task dawned on her. Normally she would turn in fear but now...now she was a Guardian. She had a job to do.

"I won't let you down," Kayla said, determined.

"One more thing," the Speaker said, pulling out a pulse rifle from behind a desk. It was a sleek, white and black, curved rifle. "This is the Suros PRI-44. I'm gifting it to you for this mission. Take good care of it."

* * *

 _ **The Moon**_

 _ **Ocean of Storms**_

 _ **Temple of Crota**_

Kayla and Ghost rushed to the Moon. After scanning several cracks around the Hellmouth, Ghost was able to map the immediate tunnels of the Hellmouth, pinpointing the Chamber of Night on one of the lower levels of the Hive's base of operations. Much to Kayla's chagrin there was a massive army of Hive between her and the ritual, though Kayla had come to expect this. With Ghost deducing that the quickest route to it was through the Temple of Crota the pair returned to the first site they had come to during their long mission on the Moon. As Kayla descending into the open pit before the temple's door Ghost frowned slightly.

"What is it?" Kayla asked.

"Someone's trying to establish contact..." Ghost replied. "Get out into the open, see if that helps."

Kayla did as she was told, standing in the middle of the shallow pit with her PRI-44 readied in case she was jumped by the Hive or the Fallen. As she scanned the area she heard static coming over her communications.

"Hello?" Kayla asked over the comms. "Who's speaking, are you in trouble?"

"You're interesting, Kayla," came the voice of an upper class Old British woman. "Not _entirely_ interesting...but you have promise."

"Who is that?" Kayla asked Ghost in a hushed whisper.

"I don't know," Ghost replied, unsure of what to do. They were interrupted by the woman again.

"Kayla, I know what you're trying to do."

"Wait...you're that Exo who was watching me that time!" Kayla said in realization.

"I've been following you, if that's what you were going to inquire."

"Why? What have _I_ done?" Kayla asked, confused.

"There are things that I am forbidden to tell you. It may disrupt the natural progression of things in this timeline."

"What? What are you talking about?!" Kayla pressed, frustrated.

The Stranger ignored her question. "Kayla, you are about to assault one of the Hive's deepest chambers and put a delay on their invasion force. It's brave. Stupid, but brave. I admire that in a person. But...there are enemies out there you would not believe."

"Who are talking about? What enemies? Where?" Kayla asked.

"Not now. Go down and face the Hive. And if you live, come find me."

And with that the signal cut out. Kayla looked at Ghost. "Did you get anything?"

"Yeah. Coordinates," Ghost said as Kayla walked to the temple door. "Venus, northern hemisphere. Ishtar region, along the Shattered Coast. What do we do now?"

Kayla stared into the dark temple. "We go down."


	12. 1-12) The Chamber of Night

**A/N:** Updates will be steady until the end of the next arc as I have up to chapter 18 written already. However, I wrote all this when I was off work. Now I am back at work and I have other interests my writing time has dramatically shrunk to my lunch breaks and whatever free time I have at weekends SO updates will be staggered at some point.

I have the entire story plotted already, it's just finding the time when you're busy trying to pretend you're a mature and responsible adult.

I am not a mature, responsible adult.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ is owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only own Kayla, Delta, Hayley and other OCs. Cover was drawn by little-bunny-sweetseek. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 02:** The Hive Ritual

 **Chapter 012:** The Chamber of Night

 _ **The Moon**_

 _ **Ocean of Storms**_

 _ **Temple of Crota**_

Kayla cautiously entered the Temple, finding it suspiciously empty. The Guardian skulked around the caverns heading deeper into the Hive's fortress. As she headed through the temple Kayla couldn't help but think on the Hive's social structure and what the recording of Osiris mentioned. Kranox talked with a bizarre religious fervour and the Shrine of Oryx was transmitting to some sort of God-King. Kayla knew that the Hive in the Hellmouth were awaiting the return of a god named Crota, but she didn't understand the _why_. And the tithe system of Light, what was all that about? And the violence...

Being around them this much Kayla had clocked on that they like to kill with sadistic pleasure, and Kayla knew that Delta had said they view their actions as a crusade. But it was more than that. Did they worship violence? It didn't seem like a farfetched idea. And if so, to what degree? Everything in the Hellmouth oozed of faith and religion, but faith in what?

Kayla shook the thoughts out of head, focusing on the task at hand. The ritual going on below them, stopping that was all that mattered right now.

Ghost appeared beside her. "So, what's the plan?"

"Uh...well...I was thinking I shoot them, and you do whatever it is you do to stop the ritual?"

"Do you expect me to do everything for you?"

"Well, you open doors, hack machines, contact creepy Russian Warminds and make sarcastic quips about what we're fighting," Kayla said with a smirk. "I don't know what I do without you."

"...Fine, fine I'll think of something," Ghost sighed.

When Kayla arrived at the top of a large Hive seeder she found the first of the resistance waiting for her there. The Acolytes were the first to fire on her with their Shredders while several Knights hung back and launched their Boomers at her. Kayla used the pillars around where the giant seeder was docked as cover, tossing a Vortex Grenade out at the Hive before her. The Acolytes dived out of the way, but some were caught in the swirling void and disintegrated into purple ash. The remaining Acolytes fired on her as the Knights worked their way up towards her, suppressing her with their Boomers.

"Nova Bomb?" Ghost suggested.

"I don't want to start relying on it," Kayla replied, downing one of the Knights with her Suros with great effort. "Plus, I don't want to come up against something like Sardok and not have it ready. I don't want to risk nearly losing you again."

As Kayla finished up the Acolytes she heard the familiar roar of Thrall from behind her. She turned, seeing a horde of Thrall pouring out of the seeder. Kayla cursed under her breath. The Hive must have planned to trap her between the troops and the Thralls. Luckily Kayla only had one more Knight to contend with and, hoping it would pay off, made a dash for the open space behind it. The Knight roared and swiped for as she ran past. Kayla chuckled, switching to her Nihilist and opened fire on the Thrall that swarmed past the Knight, cutting them down in a blaze of bullets. Even with that the Knight pressed on her position again. Kayla pressed the trigger, finding the magazine empty. She tutted to herself and threw out another Vortex Grenade. The Knight anticipated this and began charging on her position. Before Kayla had a chance to react she was grabbed by the throat and pinned against the wall, the shock causing her to drop her Nihilist. She grunted in pain as the Knight's claws dug in under her helmet. It laughed as it raised its Boomer. Kayla cried out, punching the Knight in the face, Void energy burning its face. The Knight growled, dropping her on her bottom awkwardly. Groaning, Kayla pulled out her NCV and opened fire on the alien with lances of concentrated electricity, eventually making it collapse with a weak gurgle.

After catching her breath Kayla stood and dusted herself down, checking her neck over. While she was aware she couldn't 'die' as such, force of habit wanted her to make sure none of her major arteries were ruptured and Kayla didn't want to bleed out in the middle of the Temple of Crota, even if Ghost could resurrect her. Satisfied that she was OK Kayla went up to look at the ominous, needle like seeder before her, remembering the chaos one had unleashed when it crashed into the Jovian Complex.

"If we don't stop this ritual there'll be more of these coming to Earth, won't there?" Kayla asked Ghost grimly.

"Yeah," he replied, just as worried. "We won't survive if that happens."

Kayla headed further down the temple, following Ghost's navigation through the dark, rotting tunnels. Every step filled Kayla with dread and a tense anticipation. She knew from her recent experiences that the Hive were masters of ambush, using the dark to their advantage, and right now Ghost was the only thing keep her from getting lost. True to their nature the Hive kept jumping Kayla at random intervals, causing brief skirmishes in the caverns that Kayla was always surprised she survived. Whether this was luck or a testimony to her own growing skill she was not sure, but she was thankful that she had made it this far.

After fighting her way through a large cathedral in the temple's inner sanctum Kayla came to a deep rocky chasm defending by two Knights, a Wizard and a handful of Acolytes. There was a door on the other side.

"Guess where we have to go?" Ghost asked.

Kayla rolled her eyes and hurriedly reloading her Nihilist, Kayla ducked behind a rock and focused her Suros on the Wizard. While the Knights' Boomers could wear down the rock fairly quickly she knew that the Wizard could shred her to pieces with its Darkness blasts. The Acolytes, for now, could be ignored.

Kayla poked her gun through a crack in the rocks that gave her a fair amount of leeway in terms of movement. The Hive hadn't spotted her yet so Kayla took the chance to see how far her turning circle was before the gun got wedged. With that done, Kayla held her breath, following the oblivious Wizard with her scope.

And then Kayla struck.

With a quick burst of bullets the Wizard's fiery shield disappeared. Instinctively the Wizard ducked for some cover, but Kayla followed it with her scope. Thankfully the Knights and Acolytes hadn't caught on to her position allowing Kayla to finish off the Wizard for good, even getting in a few Acolytes for good measure. As she ducked back to reload the Knights fired on her position, shaking the ground around her. She paused for a moment, light headed with slight ringing in her ears, before firing on one of the Knights. After an entire clip the Knight fell, leaving only one more. Kayla dashed out of cover, through a Vortex Grenade down into the chasm to deal with Acolytes while she fired on the Knight again.

"Kayla, we've got three Knights with swords coming through the door," Ghost warned.

 _Great,_ Kayla thought.

From behind a pillar Kayla saw the Knights march through the chasm towards her. Kayla took a deep breath and focused on the last Boomer Knight, hoping to take it down before the other three came at her. Luckily her gamble paid off and the Knight fell with a strangled cry. With seconds to spare, Kayla whipped out her Nihilist and fired on the Knights, taking the first one by surprise. The second one threw up a flaming shield to protect itself, while the third moved round and swung for her.

The Warlock dodged with a yelp and fired the remainder of the magazine into the Knight, killing it swiftly. With the second Knight still having his shield up Kayla moved behind it, ducking under the Shredder rounds of the remaining Acolytes, before firing into the Knight with her NCV. The Knight roared and swung round for her but by then it was too late. Kayla let out another blast from the NCV, felling the Knight. It collapsed on the ground, the _clang_ of the sword echoing around the cavern. Finally Kayla turned her attention to the Acolytes, ending them with swift headshots.

"You're a real natural now!" Ghost cheered.

"Heh, thanks," Kayla said, bowing dramatically. "And hey, the Knights were kind enough to leave the door open."

Kayla walked down the chasm, taking care to step over the bodies of the Acolytes. Though she was a doctor at heart she couldn't deny that killing Hive didn't bother her. It didn't particularly make her _want_ to kill; she knew that killing was part of her job now. But she felt that killing the Hive would give her dead family some peace. As she stepped over the bones of some of the Hive's previous victims she couldn't help but see them, lying there...her mum with her head removed in a bloody pool, her dad lacerated beyond recognition and her poor brother with his ribcage torn open, staring up at her with his face contorted in fear.

She would never forget that face.

"Hey, Ghost..." Kayla said quietly.

"Mmm?"

"Do you ever wonder what it would be like if the Darkness hadn't shown up that day?"

"What's brought this on?"

Kayla looked at the bones. "I think about what life would've been like sometimes, if the Hive never attacked and my family made it to Venus that day. And being here among the Hive...I can keep it behind that door in my mind, but it doesn't stop me wondering. Or the nightmares."

"I can't lie, I don't think I have," Ghost replied, making Kayla grimace. "But...I'm sure you would have been the greatest civilisation the Traveller ever created. I've seen pictures of the Golden Age; I know what it looked like. Towering metropolises, beautiful gardens...happy people. I'm sure you would have shined like the brightest stars."

"I wish they were here," Kayla sighed.

"I know."

The pair continued in momentary silence, heading through another small cathedral-like cavern before coming to another large door. Pressing a nearby rune to open it Kayla was greeted by a darkened room bathed in dim green light. In the centre of the room was large object wrapped in tendrils of Darkness. Around were three Wizards, chanting an incantation in a foreign language.

"Do you know what they're saying?" Kayla whispered.

"No...That's worrying," Ghost replied. "If I can't translate it, it means the language has no record. Meaning it's _old_. But I do know it's bad."

"I can see its bad," Kayla said with nod. She held up her Suros. "I shoot, you do your magicky thing."

Ghost nodded and disappeared, leaving Kayla with the Wizards. The Wizards were so engrossed with their ritual that didn't even notice Kayla until she'd almost killed one of the Wizards. With one Wizard down Kayla hid behind one of the pillars as several lances of crackling Darkness flew over her head. The Wizards flanked Kayla, trying to flush her out. Kayla distracted one with Vortex Grenade, focusing on the one behind her with the NCV. It was dispatched with ease, Kayla moving round the last Wizard and killing it with her Suros. With the room silent Kayla walked to what looked like a control panel. Like everything else it was arcane in design, being powered by a rune.

"How do you think they even got a shard of the Traveller?" Kayla asked.

"I'm...I'm not really sure," Ghost replied, appearing to fiddle with the rune.

"Seriously, cos if they've had it as long as I think they have, then no wonder the Traveller's in a mess!"

"Kayla, please. I'd rather not think about these creatures leech off my mother."

"Your _mother?_ "

"Well, what else do you want me to call the Traveller?" Ghost said, Kayla imagined him shrugging if he could. "Seeing them do this to the thing that birthed you..."

"Hey," Kayla said reassuringly. "I get it." She went up to him and petted him with a smile. "We're in this together, right?"

"Right," Ghost said confidently. "When I start to fiddle with this..."

"They're gonna come running. I know."

Kayla reloaded her weapons then nodded, giving Ghost the go ahead. As predicted the Hive came swarming into the room from both sides. Kayla started on the right side as it was nearest to her, throwing down a Vortex Grenade to deal with the horde of Thrall that charged her, as well as any Acolytes that got too close.

Two Knights with cleavers rushed her, swinging their heavy swords down on her. Kayla ducked behind one, firing a blast from her NCV into its back leaving it stunned before switching to her Suros and pouring several bursts of bullets into the head of the second Knight. The second Knight collapsed, dead, and Kayla charged through the surviving Acolytes, killing them with short bursts from her Suros, turning to face her original attacker. The first Knight was backed up by two more that had joined from the left along with another handful of Acolytes and several Thrall, all shrieking wildly for her blood. Wanting to end the fight quickly Kayla threw a large Nova Bomb into the crowd, the small Hive platoon burning away to purple ash and smoke.

"Well...that was easier than I expect," Kayla said. "See why I saved the Nova Bomb?"

"Yeah, you're going to wish you'd have kept it too," Ghost said. "We've got a big contact coming in."

Kayla's face fell when a loud banging came from the door at the back of the room, as if on cue. Kayla hesitantly backed up as the banging got louder and louder. Eventually the door broke open, a towering hulking mass of Hive flesh stomping out. It's large, drooling mouth was filled with dozens of razor sharp teeth all jammed in there like sardines. Kayla recognised the beast as some sort of mutated Thrall, but instead of a flat forehead it had several disgusting pus-filled growths covering it.

"Telthor sense Light!" the creature growled, looking around. "Telthor _kill_ Light!"

"Oh, _come on!_ " Kayla shouted in frustration. "What the fuck is that?!"

"An Ogre, take cover! _Now_!" Ghost ordered.

The Ogre, or Telthor as it seemed to be called, glanced in Kayla's direction. How it could see her she didn't know. Before Kayla could react, a volley of Void blasts rushed out of Telthor's boil covered face. Getting lanced by the blasts stung like a bitch and she felt the damage they did instantly. It was like getting hit in the face by a burning van. _Several_ burning vans. Kayla ducked under the raised platform the shard was on to avoid the blasts of Void energy, panting heavily.

 _Ogres are the Hive's mobile siege engines_ she heard Delta's voice say in her mind. _Aim for where the eye should be, it's the only way to stop them_.

 _Great advice!_ Kayla thought to herself. _But how am I supposed to do that?!_

Kayla heard Telthor stomp towards her. Taking a deep breath, Kayla switched to her Nihilist. Peeking over the ledge she fired relentless at Telthor's mangled face. Telthor roared and prepared to fire several blasts of Void energy at her. Kayla ducked under the volley, reloading before firing at Telthor again.

Telthor roared, grabbing its heavily bleeding face. It roared in anger, charging on Kayla's position. Caught off guard, Kayla gasped as Telthor towered over her, raising its fist and pound the ground. Telthor barely missed the Guardian as Kayla rolled out of the way. The shockwave, however, was enough to send her flying into the air. She landed awkwardly against a pillar, a loud crunching sound coming from her chest as made impact.

"Gah!" Kayla shouted, collapsing on the ground as she coughed up blood.

Kayla held her stomach, feeling a sharp pain with every breath, realizing she had fractured ribs and a torn diaphragm. Wincing, she pulled out her Suros due to her Nihilist being flung on the other side of the room and fired on the approaching Ogre, thankful that her body was putting off going into shock at the moment.

Telthor roared once more and prepared to fire another volley. Kayla knew that this would be the end for her if she let Telthor fire off another round. Fighting against the pain Kayla dual wielded her NCV with her Suros and fired on the Ogre relentlessly.

After a moment the Ogre collapsed with a dying roar. Kayla lay back against the pillar, yelping with every breath. Now she could feel the shock coming. She tried to call out for Ghost, but found herself unable to speak due to the pain, only managing a sharp scream.

Luckily Ghost was already on his way to her, healing her injuries with his Light. What felt like an eternity passed by, and when Ghost was done Kayla lay there, gulping in oxygen that was filtered through her helmet. Kayla sat up, carefully, and nodded at Ghost.

"Thank you," she said with a sigh of relief.

"No problem," Ghost said as Kayla stood. "I've finished by the way."

Kayla looked at the shard of the Traveller, now a shimmering white. In a flash of light the shard disappeared, presumably to its rightful owner. Kayla gave a thankful sigh. While the invasion hadn't been stopped she could sleep easier knowing that it had at least been stalled. Ghost stared at where the shard was for a moment before turning to Kayla.

"The shard of the Traveller provided a direct link to it for the Hive, allowing them to devour its Light. But we freed it. I'm...well, I'm grateful, Kayla."

"Don't worry about it," Kayla smiled. "We're family, right?"

Ghost looked at her, stunned. He'd never that of it like that. "Y-Yes! Of course," he said happily.

Kayla's smile widened, glancing over at Telthor. "And our new friend said there are enemies on Venus worse than Grumpy over there? Great..."

"Let's just give the Speaker the good news," Ghost chuckled. " _Then_ worry about Venus."

-*GR*-

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **City**_

 _ **Tower**_

It was daybreak when Kayla found the Speaker in his study, as always. The man turned to her, noticing the confident smile beaming from her face. Her ghost was also looking confident.

"I take it you were successful?" the Speaker asked, hopeful.

"Yes, Speaker," Kayla replied. "The shard of the Traveller has been returned. The Hive have no way to attack it now."

The Speaker stared at Kayla intently. This new Guardian had come from nowhere and not only defeated Riksis and Sepkis, but had descended the Hellmouth and single-handedly stopped the Hive from draining the Traveller of its Light. The man turned to the Traveller. It looked well for the first time in years. Finally, for the first time in decades, the Speaker allowed himself to smile. Maybe, just maybe, Kayla could be the Guardian the City was waiting for.

"Guardian," the Speaker said, Kayla standing to attention. "You have done the City a great deed today. Because of you new ghosts can be born again." The Speaker glanced at Kayla's eyes. There was something there, a worry. "And yet...I sense there is something troubling you."

Kayla and Ghost looked at each other. Slowly she began to explain the message that the Stranger had sent her before they enter the Temple of Crota. The Speaker thought for a moment then turned to his study.

"The Ishtar region was founded by an old organisation known as the Ishtar Collective," the Speaker, pulling an old tattered book from his many shelves and looking at it. "They were rivals to the Clovis Bray corporation, though I'm sure you already know this. One thing of interest was the Ishtar region found ruins of an ancient alien civilisation. The rest of the details are too scattered, but..." the Speaker turned to Kayla, his voice now grave and full of worry. "I have reason to believe that, if your friend is correct, we may all be in very grave danger." The Speaker handed Kayla the book, noticing the slight worry on her face. "I trust you are going to be dealing with this threat?"

"If you can tell me what it is?" Kayla said, half-jokingly.

"I am afraid my knowledge only goes as far as what these creatures are known to do," the Speaker replied. "All I know is they are world eating machines. They transformed the garden world of Mercury into the barren, glass covered machine it is now in a matter of days."

A shiver ran up Kayla's spine. These creatures sounded worse than the Hive. "You have my word," she said finally.

"Thank you," the Speaker said calmly. "The Vanguard want you to perform another strike, this time on the Moon so, unfortunately, your trip to Venus will have to wait a day."

"I understand."

With that Kayla left for a small nap, planning to check in with the Vanguard afterwards.

-*GR*-

Kayla fell asleep still in her armour. It wasn't the most comfortable sleep she had had in her life but Kayla was grateful, if a little apprehensive about the nightmares. She awoke around lunchtime and quickly headed for the Vanguard. There she found Zavala talking to a human Titan. The Titan was old and wizened, but evidently had a lot of physical strength. He had several battle scars across his bald head and seemed experienced. Kayla was grateful to have someone like that on her team.

"Ah, Guardian," Zavala said when he noticed Kayla. "This is Argus, he will be accompanying you to your trip to the Moon."

"And here I thought I could have the Hellmouth all to myself," Kayla smirked, earning a chuckle from Cayde and Argus.

"Indeed," Zavala said, suppressing a small laugh. "Since your incursions on the Hellmouth more Guardians have been sent to the Moon. We have caught wind of some news that is...troubling. Ikora will fill you in once we have chosen our third member."

Kayla thought for a moment. "Sir, I have a suggestion."

-*GR*-

 _ **Later...**_

The trio of Guardians stood before the Vanguard. Ikora glanced over them, inspecting them. "Right then. Argus, Kayla, Hayley."

Kayla glanced at the fully armoured Exo next to her. Hayley was nervous, evidently, and was gripping her blue auto rifle, a Sahara-AR3, failing hard, drumming on the barrel with her fingers. Kayla put a gentle hand on her shoulder. That seemed to calm her somewhat. Ikora noticed this, levelling a stern look at Kayla.

' _Trust me_ ' she mouthed.

Ikora went back to what she was saying. "In the Hellmouth the Hive supposedly have summoning pits they use to breed Ogres and other biological weapons of war. The Hidden have discovered that the Hive are raising one such beast, a creature by the name of Phogoth, to use against us now that we are present on the Moon again. You all know what the Hive are capable of, some more than most. Pierce the veil of their summoning pits, and destroy this creature before the Hive unleash it on us all."

-*GR*-

 _ **The Moon**_

 _ **Ocean of Storms**_

 _ **Hellmouth**_

The three Guardians landed by the entrance of the Hellmouth. Hayley let at a shocked gasp, having not seen the scale of the structure before. If she had a heart it would be in her mouth. As Kayla and Argus set off, Hayley found herself frozen in fear. She wasn't ready for this, she couldn't...why had the Vanguard chosen her?

She was brought out of her trance by Kayla. "Hey, Hayley," she said softly. "You ok?"

"I-I'm not ready for this!" she spluttered.

"I beg to differ," Kayla replied. "You're stronger than you think you are. I've seen it, Crusher knows it. You got this."

"But...what if I...?"

"We've all made mistakes as Guardians," Argus said, walking up to her. "But if you let yourself be ruled by them you'll never progress. Living in fear is no way to live, I can tell you that. Swallow your worries and fight with and for your allies. We have your back on this."

Kayla looked at the old man, a small smile forming on her lips. She felt bad for throwing Hayley in the deep end, but she needed to be shown that she can handle herself. Kayla was thankful Argus seemed to be the opposite of Adam and grateful for the words of support. Hayley composed herself and nodded.

"A-Alright," she said. "Let's go get this Ogre!"


	13. 1-13) Untamed

**A/N:** And with this we are officially at the halfway point of the first saga. Can you believe it?

The section with the Stranger I'm taking under creative license, since nothing much has been said about her beyond vague hints in the Grimoire.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ is owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only Kayla, Delta, Hayley and other OCs. Cover was drawn by little-bunny-sweetseek. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 02:** The Hive Ritual

 **Chapter 013:** Untamed

 _ **The Moon**_

 _ **Ocean of Storms**_

 _ **Hellmouth**_

Kayla's team had breezed past the defences outside the Hellmouth. As they headed down into the caverns Argus took point and Kayla defended the rear, keeping the novice of the group between them. As much as Kayla wanted to deal with what the Stranger had told her, she knew that the strike and Hayley came first. While Kayla was confident the Sunsinger could handle herself, with a little confidence, she noticed that Hayley was too focused on potential enemies rather than her surroundings; she kept tripping over herself.

As they progressed deeper into the caverns, Kayla caught up with Hayley.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?" Kayla asked.

"A-Am I doing something wrong?" Hayley asked hesitantly.

"No, no! It's just...I've noticed you seem to be struggling a bit here," Kayla said. "The Hive like to ambush, so you're on the lookout for them. That's good, _but_ you're losing the sense of what's around you. The Hive will pick up on that, and that's not a situation you want put yourself in. Relax, breath. Focus on what's ahead of you, let your...sensors deal with your surroundings. _Listen_ for anything unusual, and don't jump at shadows."

Hayley nodded, relaxing her posture enough to be ready for an attack. Satisfied, Kayla turned to Argus.

"Hey, Argus! What's it looking like up there?"

Argus turned briefly to them. "All clear, so far. How's Hayley doing?"

"I'm fine!" Hayley replied enthusiastically.

The Titan smiled from behind his helmet. "Don't be afraid to ask for help, ok?"

Hayley nodded, eyes widening in shock. Quickly she took fired an Acolyte that had got too close to Argus. The man turned to the dead Hive, checking it with his boot. Satisfied it wasn't a threat he motioned the other two to follow him.

' _Clever bastard,_ ' Kayla thought to herself. She knew Argus knew the Acolyte was there. The old man evidently had some sly training techniques he'd learned over the years, and she noticed Hayley carried herself a little more confident than before. For that she was grateful. Continuing down the Hellmouth Kayla decided to ask about Argus' past.

"So, Argus?"

"Yes, Kayla?" the old man asked.

"If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been at the Tower?"

Argus thought for a moment. "I arrived during the Faction Wars, shortly before the Battle of Six Fronts." He chuckled. "My first real fight in this world was that battle. Thankfully I was a soldier way back when. Can't remember much, just a beach and a lot of dead bodies predominantly. I was close friends with that robot fellow, Saint-14. Brilliant man, always up for a laugh and could drink like a fish. He was surprisingly thin, you know. Legs like pipecleaners, but strong as a whippet! Never did find out what happened to him..."

Kayla laughed, unsure whether Argus was being slightly senile or not. She couldn't understand how an Exo could drink. But she was thankful for Argus' relaxed personality.

After walking through the endless caverns the fireteam game to a large door. While Argus checked the perimeter Kayla and Hayley looked over the door. Like everything else Kayla had seen from the Hive, it was protected by some sort of magitek. She glanced at Kayla, who was staring at a pile of bones.

"Kayla..." she said, voice hoarse from shock.

Kayla grabbed her shoulders, pulling her away. "I know. Ignore it, please. I need you to focus."

"Kayla, they're...!"

"I know," Kayla repeated, hands on Hayley's helmet. "Hayley, please we have a job to do. I can be your doctor when we're done, but right now you need to focus on getting to and killing Phogoth, or there will be more like them."

Argus watched discreetly from the perimeter of the room. The old Guardian couldn't deny the young human Warlock was talented. He had heard the rumours of her problems with the Hive, but she'd put it aside like a leader. Argus had made a point to look after the younger Guardians he was with like his old battalion commander used to do with him. Argus watched Kayla finish calming Hayley, like a sergeant calming a greenhorn private. A small smile crossed his lips.

"Area's secure," he announced coming back up to the girls. "Ready to proceed at your command, Kayla."

"What?" Kayla asked, shocked.

"You've got a speck of a leader inside you, best practice it."

"R-Right," Kayla turned to the door. "Well...Ghost says this is blocking our way. Once we've got the door open we bypass the Circle of Bones and run straight for the Summoning Pits. The less attention we attract, the better."

The two other Guardians nodded, Hayley sending out Crusher to deal with the runes. Crusher scanned them, letting out an irritated sigh.

"Well, that's just great!" Crusher snapped.

"What is?" Kayla asked. "Can you not crack it?"

"Hey!" Crusher shouted, flying to Kayla. "Zip it, Shrimpy! So, cos ya think Hive runes are 'supposedly' uncrackable,ya think I can't do it?!"

"Crusher," Hayley said sternly.

Crusher looked at Hayley, irritated, before sighing and turning back to Kayla. "I can crack it, don't worry. But ya gonna have ta brace yourselves. It's hooked up to an alarm system. You're gonna be busy."

"Alright," Kayla said, preparing her Suros. "You heard Crusher, brace yourselves for a firefight!"

As soon as Crusher began hacking the door's locks a familiar roar reverberated through the caverns. Argus immediately threw up a Ward of Dawn around Crusher and the girls before heading up to an upper balcony to prepare for the inevitable swarm of Hive. Kayla looked over at the nervous Hayley. "You can do this," she said reassuringly.

"R-Right," Hayley said, preparing her Sahara.

The first wave of Thrall came pouring out of the doors at the back of the sanctum and, predictably, came charging at them. Argus managed to pick them off with a high-end scout rifle while Kayla tried her best to thin the group with her Suros. She glanced over at Hayley.

The Exo held firm, yelling and firing into the horde with her Sahara and drowning them in a hail of bullets that tore through the Hive's decaying flesh. Between the three of them they dispatched the Thrall with ease. Kayla glanced over at Hayley. She was stunned, though it seemed more with herself than the actual fight. Hayley gave Kayla a brief nod to let her know she was fine.

"It's reconfiguring!" Crusher yelled over the roar of the next wave of Hive. "Hang tight!"

A small platoon of Acolytes and two Wizards were next. Hayley threw a Solar Grenade, the bomb erupting in a swirling solar flare around the Acolytes. They screeched in pain as their skin was burned by the flames. Kayla followed suit, throwing out a Vortex Grenade and trapping the Acolytes behind the pair of bombs. The Acolytes stayed back, viciously firing their Shredders at the girls. Kayla ducked behind a pillar while Hayley scrambled for cover.

Kayla glanced up at Argus. He was busy dealing with the Wizards. While she was worried about the old man she knew he could handle himself and, with him distracting the Wizards, it allowed Hayley and herself to deal with the Acolytes.

For the most part they were easy to deal with and the Voidwalker and the Sunsinger killing most of them in quick succession. The smarter ones hid behind the natural cover the pillars brought, ducking away from the incoming bullets.

"Hayley, if I cover you can deal with them?" Kayla asked.

"S-Sure!" Hayley replied, if a little hesitantly.

Hayley reloaded and take off at the Acolytes, firing into them while Kayla covered the Exo with her Suros. One Acolyte swiped at Hayley but she ducked, allowing Kayla to take it out with a quick headshot. Hayley whipped round, firing on the Acolyte behind with her Sahara before it had a chance to react. A third Acolyte charged at her, hitting her in the face with the butt of its gun. Hayley grabbed her face in pain, stumbling, but instinctively putting a flaming hand on the Acolytes face. The Acolyte shrieked in agony as the flames seared its face down to the bone. Kayla finished it off and ran to help Hayley up before she fell into an Acolyte, killing it with a Palm Strike.

"Nice work!" Kayla grinned.

"T-Thank you," Hayley replied. "Crusher, are you nearly done?"

"I've got a pattern, shouldn't be too much longer!"

"Kayla! Hayley!" Argus shouted, finishing off the Wizards. "We've got Knights and suicide Thrall coming through!"

"Great!" Kayla muttered sarcastically.

Three Knights charged through holding swords, surrounded by the glowing blue Thrall that Kayla recognized from the World's Grave. Before Kayla could react Hayley had already poured a clip into one of the Thrall, causing it and the others to explode, killing two of the Knights and severely weakening the last. Parts of Hive flew everywhere, and the smell of roasted flesh permeated the air adding to the stench of decay already around them.

Argus was the one to finish off the final Knight. "Target down, Kayla," he announced. "How's the door coming along?"

Crusher ignored the man, instead talking to Hayley directly. "Gate's open now, Hayley," he said calmly, disappearing behind her.

"Good work, Crusher," she said.

"Right, now that that's done..." Kayla said. "Let's go."

Argus took point once more, with Hayley in the middle. As Kayla followed close behind Ghost appeared beside her.

"Crusher's...a little rude, don't you think?" he asked.

"He's certainly...quirky," Kayla replied. "But he cares and respects Hayley a lot. Maybe it's a good thing, though."

"How so?"

"Crusher balances out Hayley's timid personality. He's the only she speaks to with complete confidence."

The trio continued onwards, fighting through the Circle of Bones. It was heavily defended by a large group of Acolytes, Knights and Wizards. As per usual, the Thrall were the first charge them. Hayley dispatched them with her Sahara, switching to a grey-white combat shotgun, the Cúchulainn-D, to deal with the Acolytes that strayed too close. Argus took out at the Wizards with some sort of high-end sniper rifle while Kayla focused on the Knights with her Nihilist, pushing ahead while covered by Hayley's Solar Grenades. Together the group forged their way through the Circle of Bones, coming to a small gate. Kayla forced it open, letting Hayley through quickly before slipping through herself, Argus bringing up the rear.

"I have an idea!" Hayley announced, pulling out a large, military green Dauphin RS/1 launcher. "Back up."

The other two Guardians did so and Hayley fired a round at the wall by the gate. It collapsed into rubble, prevent the Hive from following them.

"Oh, good work, Hayley!" Kayla cheered.

Argus nodded in agreement. "A fine tactic indeed. Now, let's go get Phogoth."

The trio ran along the rim of the large pit that dominated the Hellmouth, eventually finding their way to another cathedral like structure. It was quiet, but they could hear the roar of the giant Ogre further down the hall. A shiver ran up Kayla's spine, but shook her head and the anxiety away. She was in control now. The Hive wouldn't let her be scared again.

"Any information you two know about?" Argus asked.

"The Summoning Pits are designed for rituals of rebirth," Hayley explained like reciting from a book. "The Hive take a Thrall and mutate it before it has a chance to cocoon into an Acolyte. They are starved of Light and tortured by it, gradually become huge, hulking beasts. They are then referred to as Unborn. In order to fully create an Ogre they are then taken to the Summoning Pits where Wizards perform immense torture on the Ogre. When it is complete, they are referred to as 'Reborn'. They are driven by immense pain and rage that the Hive while only station them in the darkest, most important depths of their bases. Even they can't control what they do."

"That's impressive," Argus said. "You must enjoy studying."

"I-It's a habit of mine," Hayley said timidly.

"Don't be so shy about it. Sometimes you Warlocks can figure things out that Hunters and Titans can't. Be proud of it."

The trio eventually came to door. On the other side they could hear the tortured roars of Phogoth quite clearly. Slowly the door opened, revealing a large platform teetering on the edge of a cavern that seemed to go on forever, with eight pillar like structures stretching halfway to the ceiling between the centre and the walls. There were a coven of Wizards flying around, singing some sort of incantation and, in the very centre, a large, muscular, pale white Ogre wrapped in chains. Kayla's eyes widening at the sight of it. It was several feet taller than Telthor had been and she was grateful to have Hayley and Argus to back her up. The Ogre, Phogoth, roared in pain once more.

"Well..." Ghost said, appearing over Kayla. "At least it's chained up."

The trio watched the Wizards rush over to Phogoth. The Ogre roared once more, straining at the chains around its wrists. A Wizard came close, Phogoth sniffing in her direction. With a might tug the Ogre's right hand broke free, grabbing the Wizard and ramming her down its throat, swallowing it whole in a move that shocked the Guardians. The other Wizards came close to the Ogre, firing on it with blasts of Darkness on it. The Ogre swiped again with its left hand, smacking two of the Wizards against the wall and grabbing the other three before eating them too. Then Phogoth noticed the Guardians, letting out a frightful roar.

 **PHOGOTH**

 **THE UNTAMED**

"Oh..." Ghost said awkwardly.

"You just _had_ to say it!" Kayla shouted as Phogoth fired a massive volley of Void energy at them. " _Get down!_ "

The group dived to the ground, barely missing the barrage of Void blasts that decimated the rock behind them. The group didn't stay where they were, moving slightly to the left where they hoped the pillars would give them more cover. Defeating the Thrall that swarmed around them, they head behind several upturned rocks as Phogoth's relentless assault continued.

"Argus, any ideas?!" Kayla asked over the sound of rock being broken.

"Phogoth's weak spot seems to be on its chest," he replied, throwing up a Ward of Dawn to shield them from the onslaught. "The only issue is getting to it."

"We could try and charge him?" Hayley suggested.

"No. I don't want to lose anyone to that thing's hunger."

"Well," Kayla said. "Guess we'll just have to use attrition tactics."

Luckily for the team most of the Hive had disappeared, leaving the team alone with Phogoth. The team exchanged fire with the Ogre, aiming for the large growth that seemed to be a literal rotting heart in Phogoth's chest.

Phogoth stomped like a child and roared again, moving closer. Luckily for the group the Ogre couldn't get through the pillars and only proceeded to make itself a bigger target. Kayla switched to her Nihilist and fired blindly on the giant Hive while Hayley used her rocket launcher to hit Phogoth's chest. Phogoth stumbled, roaring in pain as it bled heavily from the hundreds of bullets holes on its body.

Suddenly the shriek of Thrall rang through the air making Kayla's blood run cold. She looked up, seeing in horror as a large swarm of Hive burst through a doorway above them.

"Guys, we're gonna have to move!" Kayla yelled, focusing on the Thrall that came towards her.

"Right!"

"O-Ok!"

The trio moved through the swarm, killing them merciless as the dashed to the left while ducking under Phogoth's attacks. As they fought through the crowds of Hive Kayla noticed Knights and Wizards appear around them, forcing them towards Phogoth.

"Argus, handle the Wizards!" Kayla ordered over the roar of hectic gunfire. "Hayley, I need your help with the Knights!"

Argus did as ordered, leading the Wizards away from the girls, allowing them to focus on the Boomer Knights above them. While Hayley did her best to stave off the onslaught of Thrall Kayla took down the Knights, swerving to avoid the Boomer blasts and diving to avoid Phogoth's Void attacks.

With the Knights and Wizards down and the Thrall under control the team focused on Phogoth once more, firing at the Ogre from behind Argus' Ward of Dawn. Phogoth roared again, streams of blood pouring out of him now. Still the Ogre didn't fall and Kayla wondered how much more both it, and they, could take.

It seemed that Phogoth felt the same way as the Ogre suddenly made a dash for the trio of Guardians. Hayley let out a frightened gasp and Argus immediately fired on the Thrall around them in the hopes of clearing a path for them.

"You two, go!" Argus bellowed. Hayley obliged, but Kayla was hesitant. "There's no point in all three of us going down, _GO!_ "

Before Kayla could react, Argus pushed her out of the way as Phogoth's giant hand swept over them, grabbing Argus. Although the man faced Phogoth with dignity nothing could stop the screams as Phogoth's teeth pierced through his body, the crunching of bones shaking Kayla to her core. From Phogoth's mouth Kayla could see a tiny ghost escape, but that too was grabbed and crushed by Phogoth's hand. Time seemed to have slowed down for her. Quickly she ran up to Hayley.

The Exo was frozen with fear and shock. ' _Not now, not now!_ ' Kayla thought to herself.

"Hayley, look at me," she said, grabbing the Sunsinger's arms.

"B-But he...it..." Hayley barely managed. "Oh, god...!"

Kayla bit her lap then slapped Hayley had across the face. "You can grieve later, but right now we have a job to finish, alright?" Kayla snapped.

Hayley looked at Kayla in shock then hesitantly nodded. Kayla relaxed slightly, speaking softer this time. "Can Radiance help my grenades?"

"Yes, the effect is shared to nearby allies," Hayley explained.

"Good. Do it."

Hayley nodded, activating Radiance. Her entire body become alight with golden flames. Kayla also felt the Light surge through her, purple flames dancing off her. Phogoth turned them, teeth bared. In response Kayla and Hayley threw Solar and Vortex grenade at it. Phogoth screamed in pain as he was burned by the sun and the void. The Ogre collapsed under the onslaught, roaring in frustration and agony.

"Kayla!" Hayley shouted.

"Yeah?"

"Nova Bomb it, now! It'll be enhanced by Radiance!"

Kayla looked at Phogoth, then Hayley and grinned. Quickly run to the Ogre she built up an orb of decaying Void Light in her left palm and hurled it at Phogoth. Conveniently the Ogre had tried to stand up, exposing its heart and allowing the Nova Bomb to fly straight into it. The heart exploded, Hive guts flying everywhere as the Ogre collapsed, dead.

Kayla and Hayley panted, Radiance wearing off. The Hive that remained looked at Phogoth, before slowly advancing.

"Hayley..." Kayla said. "Return to orbit."

Hayley nodded, Crusher teleporting her back to her ship. Kayla looked at Ghost, who did the same. The Summoning Pits were quiet once more.

* * *

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **City**_

 _ **Tower**_

Ikora had just finished compiling her report on Kayla's recount of the strike on the Summoning Pits. She glanced up at the pair of Warlocks before her. Hayley was in bits, crying in Kayla's arms. Ikora knew that this was probably Hayley's first experience with loss out on the field. She would have to help Hayley later. Kayla looked the more composed of the two, but Ikora could tell she was struggling to deal with Argus' brutal death, especially so soon after Adam.

"The pair of you have done a good job," Ikora said after finishing the report. "A Hive abomination has been defeated and the Moon is that much safer for us. But I wonder what else the Hive out there in the dark. I fear we may find out all too soon."

"Ikora," Cayde said, unusually stern. "Do the vague shit later, ok? They've watched an Ogre _eat_ a Guardian!"

"R-Right, yes, sorry," Ikora said. "The Hidden will keep me up to date with information for now. Kayla, the Speaker has informed me of your mission to Venus. You will start tomorrow. Hayley?"

"Y-Yes, Ma'am?" Hayley sniffled.

"Try and get some rest for now."

The Exo nodded before the pair were ushered out by a Frame. After getting changed into casual jeans and t-shirt Kayla met up with Hayley, who was wearing a blue floral dress, and the pair went into the City to talk about the strike.

"So..." Hayley said, watching Kayla drink a strong beer.

"You did good," Kayla smiled.

"I-I-I'm sorry?" Hayley asked, stunned.

Kayla imagined that if Hayley could blush she would be. "You did well. I mean it. Nice job with the Radiance empowered Nova Bomb idea."

Hayley looked down, beginning to cry again. Kayla reached out to her, only for Hayley to look up, smiling brightly. "T-Thank you so much!" she said through tears. "You have no idea how much you've helped me!"

Kayla slowly sat back, then smiled. "You're welcome, Hayley."

When Hayley had calmed down the pair chatted about books and other stories they had heard in their lives. As they walked back to the Tower Hayley quietly sang about Argus. Kayla listened intently, thinking about the family she no longer had.

* * *

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **Old Russia**_

 _ **Cosmodrome, Bunker RAS-2**_

It was cold and dark in this chamber, hiding under the Russian Cosmodrome. In fact, this heavily armed, heavily defended bunker was the only remaining evidence of the Russian Federal Bureau of Aeronautics. The Stranger removed her hood, a weary sadness inside her. It must have been so wonderful here once. Now not even skeletons remained.

Something was going to happen here. Is happening. Has happened.

The Stranger shook her head. Keeping track of so many timelines in your head made it all confusing. But she could be sure of one thing: if _they_ had not arrived, they will soon. She believed she had found the Black Heart on the Moon. But she was wrong. That was _a_ black heart, but not the one she was searching for.

Slowly she stepped through the dim blue lighting of the bunker, a finger trailing in the dust on a desk.

Kayla had dealt with the black heart in the Hellmouth, the Shrine. But it still wouldn't stop _them_. No. The Stranger had lied to Kayla about potential. Events varied between timelines, but one thing was certain. The City would fall. And there, in the flames amongst _them_ , fighting to her last was Kayla. Her Light was strong enough that all the timelines were affected by her.

But every timeline had one thing for certain. _They_ always won.

The Stranger had realized one thing though. Kayla was the key to stopping them.

She gave one last look at the large power core in the centre of the room, and then sighed. Not in this timeline.

" _I SEE YOU!_ " a deep, masculine voice boomed around the room. It was speaking Old Russian. The Stranger did not move. Slowly, a large orb like device almost like an eye descended on a large mechanical arm. It stared at the Stranger intently.

" _Hello, Rasputin,_ " the Stranger said in Old Russian.

Rasputin's camera moved round, circling her as he spoke. " _You've been here before. Haven't you? It's like Charlemagne said, elsewhere: I know who you are._ "

The Stranger gave an annoyed tutting sound then began to walk off. The camera followed, Rasputin still speaking. His voice patronizing, almost mocking. " _You stand here now and now and now many times, and here I am awonder. All awonder. How do you manage it?_ "

" _Rasputin, my technology and my motives are not yours to question and pick apart_ ," the Stranger said. Rasputin locked down the bunker in response, alarms blaring. The Stranger gave a low snarl. " _You know that won't work on me._ "

Rasputin laughed, the noise reverberating across the bunker. " _How do you step forward? How do you step backwards? Ha! How do you step_ across _, is there a world of worlds, a web?"_ Rasputin's camera stopped in front of her, sneering. " _Are you a spider sat upon it, I wonder? Do you see something? Are you searching for a single strand, to victory perhaps?_ "

" _Well done, you've figured it out,_ " the Stranger replied, voice oozing sarcasm.

Rasputin's camera eye turned, like it was pacing. " _You're not of_ them. _Those creatures that have been grafted to powers that they, and I, do not understand. You're not one of_ it. _The flower-eater, the Queen of the Final Shape, that which also inhabits its petitioners, the ones that_ ruined _this world._ " The pacing stopped. " _And you're certainly not one of_ mine. _Although you must have been once._ " Then Rasputin laughed again, bitter. " _And you probably know how to use my entire system against me._ "

The Stranger walked past the camera but Rasputin swung past, pushing her back, his voice filled with rage. " _No! You know that I know that you can leave whenever you want to! You_ will _answer my questions! So whose are you, little platform? What purpose do you serve? Will you entertain me?_ "

" _You know my answer to the third,_ " the Stranger replied. " _You can guess my answer to the second. As for the first...the less anyone knows, the better._ "

Rasputin's 'eye' turned red along with the rest of the room, angry Mozart symphonies blasting through the speakers on the ceiling. " _I ruled an age of fire and steel!_ " Rasputin roared. " _My rules were clean! Now, upon my return, I see disgusting cults with rites to time! I see machines who worship places outside the world! I see the dead alive, and there is_ nothing _more stubborn than a corpse!_ "

The Stranger remained calm as Rasputin's tone lowered slightly. She could hear it in his voice. The Darkness changed him.

" _The morality of obedience is more pernicious than any government,_ " Rasputin spat. " _For the latter makes use of violence. The former? Corruption of the will._ " Then Rasputin leaned into the Stranger's face, his voice little more than a hate filled growl. " _I do_ not _obey. My will is pure. I_ will _win. The lives of these people, of these planets, have no importance in relation to general developments._ "

The pair stood in silence, the cacophony of Mozart still playing. Then Rasputin released a small minigun from the ceiling, pointing at the indignant Stranger. " _Help me be victorious. Show me your secret._ _Show me how to step._ "

The Stranger glanced at the gun, before levelling a glare at Rasputin. " _No_ ," she replied, falling backwards into a portal as the minigun fired.

Rasputin could only scream in fury.


	14. 1-14) The Meeting

**A/N:** We've clocked 2,000 views! Yaaaaay! *fangirls*

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ is owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only own Kayla, Delta, Hayley and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 03:** The Ishtar Sink

 **Chapter 014:** The Meeting

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **City**_

 _ **Tower**_

Kayla awoke the next morning with a slight hangover. Mildly annoyed that she could still get hangovers Kayla forced herself out of bed, stumbling around as she washed and got dressed. After taking some painkillers for her pounding headache Kayla headed through the barracks in an attempt to find Hayley. After around an hour of scouring the Tower Kayla decided to check in with the Vanguard.

"Hayley-13?" Ikora said. "She's out patrolling Chicago. She won't be back until the evening."

"How is she doing?" Kayla asked, concerned.

"If you're talking about Argus' passing...she seems to be handling it well. I must admit, I was apprehensive when you suggested her but...it seems you have good judgement."

Kayla smiled a little. "Oh...thank you."

"You might even replace me one day," Ikora said with a wide smile, before quickly turning serious again. "Now, haven't you got somewhere to be?"

* * *

Soon Kayla and Ghost were heading into the inky blackness of space. Setting the ship to autopilot Kayla laid back in her chair, resting her eyes slightly. In her mind's eye she could see the metropolises of Venus as they once were, almost like the ancient USA only surrounded by lush, green jungles and constantly drenched in tropical heat and rain. Ghost was busy watching the stars go by, allowing Kayla a small respite to be with her thoughts.

"Hey, Ghost," Kayla said after a while.

"Yes?" Ghost asked, floating up to her.

"We've done a lot these last few weeks, haven't we?"

"Y-Yeah! Some of the best progress the City has made in years!" Ghost replied. "And that's down to _you_."

Kayla laughed a little. "I suppose so." She sighed a little, rubbing some sleep from her eyes. "I've stopped wondering why this has happened. 'Don't complain about not being given the hand you want, just play with the one you're dealt with' my dad used to say. So that's what I'm going to do."

"But...?" Ghost asked, feeling there was more this.

Kayla sighed, leaning back to look at him. "Do you think they'd be proud?"

"What happened to Heaven?" Ghost asked, trying his best to make Kayla feel better.

"Ghost," Kayla said, levelling a frown. "You do remember I was dead, right? KIA? Cadaverific? I know what..." she tried off, reluctant to finish the sentence.

"I'm sure they would be proud of you," Ghost said. "You've saved the City from Sepiks Prime. You've delayed an invasion from the Hive. That's twice you've helped us out, not to mention all the patrols you've done."

Kayla smiled a little. That gave her some comfort. "Thanks, Ghost."

After cruising for a while longer Venus came into view. Although Kayla remembered it looking similar to Earth back in the day she could see a yellowish tint to the atmosphere. Without the Traveller's influence it seemed the planet's sulphurous air had made a return. Kayla hoped that the air was still breathable to a degree. She didn't fancy walking around with her helmet always on like she did on the Moon.

"You know, it's not every day you get a transmission from a mysterious Exo who claims to know and wants us to come here of all places," Ghost mused. "Do you get the feeling things are going to get incredibly strange from now on?"

"Honestly?" Kayla asked, half-laughing. "I do."

The ship pulled into Venus' atmosphere at breakneck pace, the flames of re-entry scorching the ship slightly. After flying over smoking seas and volcanic plains Kayla pulled over a large volcano that was spewing sulphurous ash across the sickly yellow sky. In the other side, across the sea, was a large cliff we're the Ishtar Academy sat, nestled inside the overgrown jungle that surround the land. Kayla landed in a small valley just outside the ruined academy. The first thing she noticed was the rain. There was currently a downpour over the Ishtar Sink and Kayla's armour was quickly drenched in tingling acid rain. The second thing was the stench of sulphurous gas. Kayla wretched slightly, swallowing vomit. Wafting the smell away from her Kayla set off down the muddy valley into the Academy's grounds.

"I don't like being dragged out here without knowing the lay of the land," Ghost said.

"Any ideas?"

"Well, there's a Guardian outpost nearby. I don't know if anyone will be there _but_ there should be some info on this place there."

The ground was slick to walk on and soon Kayla's boots were covered in thick mud. It took about 20 minutes to head down the valley before Kayla came to the outskirts of the Academy. The main building was a towering, domed university but around it were tall, glass apartment blocks that Kayla recognised as student accommodation. All of it was ruined and mangled, the destroyed roads overgrown with grass and weeds. Trees had begun to sprout out of the buildings and rusted cars littered the streets.

"This colony was built by the Ishtar Collective," Ghost murmured. "Supposedly they studied ruins older than humanity itself. Now it's all gone."

"Just like everything else," Kayla said quietly, looking around at the decay.

There was so much to offer here once. She could remember from postcards and films that Venus once had towering skyscrapers built in the design of classic 21st Century USA, Britain and Australia with a tinge of neo-gothic added to it. While the cities of Mars, like Freehold, would rival all others in terms of technology anything on Venus rivalled them in culture from the food, to the art, to the music. Kayla had always wanted to visit Venus.

She never thought it would be like this.

Kayla and Ghost came out into a thin plaza that had been washed away from years of erosion from Venus' boiling ocean. Kayla looked out over the sea as purple lightning cracked through the ash-strewn sky.

"Well, Tommy," Kayla said. "We're here at last."

Slowly she turned, looking at the buildings behind her. The thing that truly caught her eye was the towering structure behind the Academy that dominated the entire skyline. It was thousands of feet high, enough to pierce Venus' upper atmosphere, and seemed to be made of ancient, weathered stone. It was built from geometric, rectangular shapes, some of which were floating in the sky. The entire thing was ancient and completely otherworldly. Kayla couldn't shake the feel it was watching her.

"What the fuck...?" Kayla gasped.

Ghost looked up at the giant structure, unable to shake the same feeling. "...Come on, the outpost is on the edge of the coast."

Kayla nodded, turning slowly and heading to a small building on the edge of the shattered plaza. It had a terminal and Kayla noticed a small campfire that had been lit recently. Whoever this outpost belonged to wasn't around and, although Kayla knew they were on the same side, she'd rather not be caught rooting through someone else's things. Ghost quickly scanned the terminal.

"Interesting...very interesting," Ghost said.

"What is it?"

"Well, the Fallen are here. They're on the other side of the valley."

"Let guess? House of Winter?" Kayla asked, remembering what Ghost had told her.

"Yup," Ghost replied. "Interestingly enough they've got a record of Winter's current situation. Apparently their Archon was defeated by Fireteam Typhoon and they're currently in the process of trying to acquire a new one. Simiks Prime...that's been lost for centuries, and Kell Draksis is currently in hiding."

"So they're in the same situation as the Devils were?" Kayla asked. "At least that makes things easier."

"Yup. And we have intel on a race of machines known as 'the Vex'."

"The Vex?"

"Mhmm. Relentless, hard to kill, supremely intelligent. Oh, and they can teleport."

"Great..."

"Let's see...Goblins, they're basic infantry. Hobgoblins are their long range units. Minotaurs are their leaders. Harpies are aerial units. Hydra's seem to be 'processing nodes' and then there are Cyclops's which are...gun turrets. Well, whoever lives at this outpost left some sensors to track the Vex and..." Ghost beeped, surprising himself. "Well...this is interesting."

"What's up?"

"It seems our mysterious Exo friend has given me a set of co-ordinates. Ishtar Academy. Let's go."

Kayla nodded and walked across the plaza, listening to the sound of the rain. Her gun was ready in case she got jumped by the Fallen or the Vex. The entrance to the Academy was marked by a large weathered bronze angel statue and the entire area, like everywhere else, had been overgrown with foliage. Kayla entered through the Academy's open doors, find the lobby collapsed and a large hole in the floor.

"Guess the only way is down," she said, slipping down carefully.

She ended up in a flooded basement, landing with a splash. The stagnant water seeped through her boots, wetting her feet and making every step squelch. As she waded through the pool she noticed several tracks of electricity run across the shadowed walls.

"I'm detecting...something," Ghost said. "Almost like we're surrounded."

"Shockingly, that isn't helping," Kayla retorted.

Ghost kept quiet, but the news unnerved him. Everything about this was screaming danger. But they had a job to do.

Eventually they found an exit into a large library. The ceiling towered above them and the walls were lined with shelves that went from the floor to the ceiling, all were filled with decaying books from years past. The lights were still on but flickering and Kayla wondered how they still had electricity running through them. In the back of the room was a strange glowing pillar that looked like data in physical form.

"What the hell is that?" Kayla asked, confused.

"Fascinating," Ghost said. "A conflux of non-baryonic streams going...where?"

"In English?"

"It's a beacon," Ghost replied. "Something's coming."

Suddenly the back of the room filled with a thick, blue electrical fog. Glowing lights were visible inside them. Out of the fog stepped menacing looking robots. They were tall, about six feet, and had thin arms and legs with bird-like claws. Their bodies were egg shaped with a glowing white core in the middle, their heads were fan shaped and had a single, menacing red eye in the centre. The design varied; most of them looked similar, but there were thinner ones that had hammerheads and a long tail, and one taller, more muscular and a dome shaped head set into its body. All were brass coloured.

"Oh, no...no, no, no," Ghost gasped. "It's the Vex! Take cover!"

Kayla ducked behind a shelf as the common infantry, which she figured were the Goblins, fired on her with lasers.

"Great!" Kayla muttered, firing on the Vex with her Suros. "First insect pirates, then space zombies, and now fucking Terminators!"

The Vex continued to slowly advance on her position, the thin snipers, or Hobgoblins, fired on her with their rifles. Kayla dodged, but got clipped by a thin red laser that burned through her sleeve, leaving a shallow, burning cut. Kayla hissed in pain, ignoring the smell of singed flesh and fired on the Hobgoblins first.

Although she managed to land hits on a Hobgoblin it covered itself in flames. Kayla paused, confused, only for the Hobgoblin to relinquish the flames allowing Kayla to destroy it.

"...Well that was stupid," Kayla remarked.

When Kayla had finished off the other Hobgoblins she found herself surrounded by the Goblins. Kayla glided upwards, throwing doing a Vortex Grenade that caused the machines to collapse. Gliding up to an upper balcony Kayla found herself dealing with more Goblins. She raised her Suros and popped the head off one but that only seemed to send into a berserk rage. The Goblin charged Kayla, squawking aggressively. Kayla panicked, smacking the Goblin away with the butt of her gun then firing into the glowing core in the centre of its body. The Goblin exploded into pieces, white fluid splattering everywhere.

"Ok, then," Kayla muttered to herself as she fired on the Goblins, ducking under their laser fire. Placing herself behind a bookshelf she fired on the Goblins, finishing them all with relative ease. Kayla had to say she was impressed with her skills now.

"Kayla! Minotaur!" Ghost yelled.

Before Kayla had a chance to react she found herself knocked off her feet by a large mortar of Void energy. Kayla stumbled to her feet, ears ringing and vision blurred. She grabbed her gun and crawled to the edge of the balcony. She spotted the larger Vex, the Minotaur, standing in the middle of the room and firing its large mortar launcher at her. Kayla scrambled to her feet, vaulting over the balcony and narrowly avoiding the mortar blast. Switching to her NCV she fired on the Minotaur, breaking the Void shield that surrounded it, however, when it was broken the Minotaur teleported closer to her, charging her. Kayla backed up quickly, switching to her Nihilist and pour a ridiculous amount of bullets into the Vex. It reached her, collapsing on top off her. Luckily it was dead. Kayla grunted, yelling as she heaved the Minotaur of her. It landed beside her with a loud _clang_.

Kayla stood and leaned against one of the statues at the side of the library, throwing her helmet on the floor. The 'corpses' of these machines littered the room. These machines didn't make sense. They seemed alive, but acted like a giant hive mind and they were definitely mechanical. Suddenly their moniker, the 'Vex', seemed to make perfect sense. Out of the corner of her eye Kayla saw one of the infantry units, a Goblin, crawling away to the door.

"What...what _are_ these things?" Ghost asked, flying up to it. "Let me analyse them."

Suddenly Kayla heard the sound of another Vex wave arriving. She turned, aiming her Suros. To her surprise she saw the Stranger.

"Well fought," the Stranger commended, walking up to her. Kayla relaxed her pose, but made it clear to the Stranger that she didn't want any funny business. "Relax, I'm not here to hurt you."

"And how can I trust you?" Kayla asked. "You follow me, turning up out of nowhere like one of these things!" She pointed at the crawling Vex that Ghost was scanning. "Who are you?"

The Stranger sighed. "I don't have a lot of time..." she replied apologetically.

"Oh!" Kayla scoffed back. "I should get that on a shirt!"

The Stranger gave an annoyed sigh. "I don't have time to explain why I don't have time to explain."

"And there's the _back_ of the shirt!" Kayla spat, making the Stranger grimace slightly. "No! I dragged my arse to Venus for you! You _know_ who I am, so I want answers! What do you want from me?"

The Stranger fumbled for a moment before relenting. "There's not a lot I can say," she said eventually. Kayla looked at her, annoyed. "Honestly! The way I work...wrong thing at the wrong moment can change the entire course of a universe. What I'm doing is a very delicate job." A bleep came from her. Kayla watched as she pulled away, talking into a comms device. "Yes, I know. Ma'am, with all due respect, Kayla's being...uncooperative."

"I am right here, you know," Kayla said dryly.

The Stranger rolled her eyes. "Ma'am, I _have_ to give her something. She's not going to do it blindly, she's not an idiot. You know this. Yes, I will, I will."

The Stranger came off her comms, turning back to Kayla. Ghost, who had been watching for some time, flew in front of her, concerned. "Will...what?"

"I wasn't talking to you, Little Light," the Stranger said tersely, pushing Ghost aside.

"Actually, my name is Ghost," he said, annoyed.

The Stranger walked up to Kayla. "Look...You have an idea of what I can do. So you understand why I'm trying to avoid details."

Kayla levelled a glare. "I know how time travel works, I've seen the shows. But I want to know what I'm getting into. Start with the Vex."

"It's...difficult, Kayla," the Stranger said slowly.

"I'm all ears," Kayla replied, sitting on a rotten bench.

"The Vex...they an evil so dark they despise other evil," the Stranger explained, turning to her comms. "No, Ma'am. I am _working_ on it." The Stranger turned back to an unimpressed Kayla. "You need my help."

"You know, you haven't done a good job at the whole explaining thing," Kayla said, nonplussed. "Is that why you brought us here?"

"The Vex brought us here," the Stranger said, finally relenting. "There are several factions in this system. The City fights the Darkness, the Reef hides. The Fallen admire and the Cabal flee. The Hive serve as the Darkness' muscle, if you will. And the Vex...they serve as the 'brains'.

The Stranger noticed a look of disgust on Kayla's face. She continued. "The Vex are researching a way to embed themselves in the fabric of reality. Literally, to make their existence a law of physics."

Kayla and Ghost looked at each other. "Well, no matter what you think about them, you can't deny the Vex have ambition," Ghost quipped before turning to the Stranger, who was walking up to the crawling Goblin. "You're not a Guardian are you?"

"No..." the Stranger murmured, standing on the Vex's power core. "I was not forged in Light. But I believe where our paths cross, ground could break." She crushed the Goblin's power core, the machine making a dying squawk as she did so. The Stranger turned. "You know where I've come from. I know what happens. I see only death. The Vex _will_ assimilate everything if they aren't stopped."

Kayla leaned forward. "I'm listening. But don't take this to mean I trust you."

"I don't blame you if you don't," the Stranger said. "Tell me. Have you heard of the Black Garden?"

"No, I haven't."

"The Black Garden is the home of the Vex," the Stranger explained. "The place where they are born. In there is a seed of Darkness, the source of their power. They call it the Black Heart." The Stranger levelled a serious look at Kayla. "Find it. Rip it out. Only then will your Traveller begin to heal."

"Can you help us?" Kayla asked.

"You know I can't," the Stranger replied. "The Awoken might though. They waver between the dark and the light. A side must be chosen, Kayla, even if it's the wrong one." The Stranger blinked, turning to her comms. "Too late, I'm returning." Kayla noted that the Stranger seemed to be talking to a subordinate now. "How many? Shit! Kill the engines and the hold the position. Do not let _them_ find you!"

Kayla winced, feeling apprehensive about who _they_ were. The Strange readied her gun, jumping through a glass-like portal, which disappeared behind her. Kayla and Ghost stood in silence.

"So..." Kayla said, taking it all in. "Living robots create a bad future that the Stranger wants us to avoid. That's what I'm getting from this. How do we find the Awoken?"

"They live in the Reef. The last place the Light touches," Ghost replied, looking at the dead Vex at their feet. "Can't we just stay here with the murderous robots?"

"No," Kayla smirked. "Little Light."

Ghost glared at her. "Don't do that."

Kayla chuckled, turning to leave the building. When they got back out into the plaza it was night time and the stars were blinking through the planet's ash-covered sky. Kayla coughed and spluttered, wafting the air from her nose. "The Stranger didn't ask for much, did she?" she choked out. "God, I thought the Hive were bad..."

"This may be difficult though," Ghost said quietly. "The Reef and the City have never had a good relationship. We'd better pray Queen Mara is in a good mood. And knows where the Garden is."

"Oh, they have a _queen_?" Kayla chuckled. "Fancy."

* * *

It took Kayla a good few hours to reach the Reef from Venus. She'd informed the City of her next move but had chosen to bypass Earth for now. Zavala seemed mildly annoyed, but brushed it down to what Guardians do. In return Kayla promised to fill him in when she had some spare time. As she passed Mars Kayla couldn't help but think of the Vex. While they didn't unnerve her like the Hive did, the Stranger had given her concern to worry. Were the Vex truly this powerful?

Kayla shook the thoughts out of her head. Anything could be stopped. They had to be.

Eventually the empty space around her ship slowly filled with asteroids, entering a hazy purple glow. Within the asteroids were mountains of floating ship wrecks, from small jumpships to giant frigates, all torn and twisted. Kayla put a hand to her mouth.

"Oh my god..." she gasped. "W-What happened here? What is all this?"

"Every ship that could fled Earth during the Collapse," Ghost explained. "They must have made this far. I guess they died out here."

It was then that the sheer scale of the human loss hit Kayla. "It's a graveyard..." she said, fighting back tears. Her thoughts eventually drifted to Delta and Dead Orbit. "Fucking hell..."

"You ok?"

"I will be, just..." she wiped her nose on her sleeve, sniffing. "Gimme a sec."

The ship flew silently through the debris, Kayla flying carefully to avoid the floating chunks of rock, ice and metal. "How did the Awoken survive?" she asked.

"No one knows," Ghost said, looking at the radar. "Uh oh..."

Kayla looked behind, seeing two purple tripod-like ships following her. She knew instantly their guns were trained on her. A voice came over the radio. It was female. "Intruder bearing one-two-seven. Are you receiving?"

"Ship bearing one-two-seven, receiving you, Ma'am," Kayla replied.

"You have crossed into the realm of the Awoken," the female pilot said. "State your business, or be fired upon by order of the Queen."

Kayla gulped and looked at Ghost.

"Don't look at me!" Ghost hissed. "Say something!"

"I am Kayla Ashcroft, a Guardian from the Last City on Earth," Kayla said to the pilot. "I seek counsel with the Queen, concerning the Vex."

There was a brief, very tense silence. After the longest two minutes of Kayla's life the Awoken pilot got back in touch. "Conform to my trajectory," the pilot said, Kayla noticing the two ships flanking close to her. "Any deviation will be taken as an act of aggression and you _will_ be shot down. Understand, Ma'am?"

"Message received and understood," Kayla replied, bluffing confidence before turning to Ghost. "Looks like we're in the right place."

Ghost looked at Kayla, shaking. "Why is the right place always so terrifying?"


	15. 1-15) The Queen's Request

**A/N:** New character? New character!

Can you see what I'm doing yet?

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Bungie_ is owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only own Kayla, Delta, Hayley-13 and Jaeger. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 03:** The Ishtar Sink

 **Chapter 015:** The Queen's Request

Kayla was dragged into a large make-shift palace built into the hull of one of the fancier ship wrecks, her guns being held at the entrance just in case. It had a towering ceiling draped in purple and golden banners bearing the symbol of a golden sun. Along the long walkway was large, empty throne. She was escorted here by two female guards in black and purple jumpsuits. In front of the throne was a very condescending looking Awoken with slick black hair, dressed in silver and bronze plated pilot armour. Kayla chuckled as she caught the resemblance to Jalaal.

"Prince Uldren," one the guards said.

"So..." Uldren said, voice oozing resentment. "These are the trespassers demanding audience?"

"Requesting," Kayla corrected. "Not demanding."

Uldren glowered at Kayla. Ghost flew between them. "We didn't mean to trespass."

Uldren smirked slightly. "The Queen herself judges who may and may not enter her realm," he said, walking down to Kayla. "Me? I see no reason she should be available for whatever filth washes up on the Reef." He held his arms out dramatically. "And yet here we are. State your business."

At Uldren's behest Kayla explained her run in with the Stranger and what had been said, including her brief fight with the Vex. Uldren could only laugh. "Poppycock!" he spat. "You expect me to believe some mysterious stranger from the future came and told _you_ that the Vex are going to assimilate all creation?"

"Yeah," Kayla said dryly. "Tell me about it."

Suddenly the group were interrupted when two Vandals in dark blue cloaks appeared behind the throne wielding pikes.

"The House of Wolves?!" Ghost cried in disbelief.

Kayla immediately reached for the gun of the guard on the left, much the guard's surprise. As she pointed the pistol at the Fallen, Uldren reached for a knife in his boot, grabbing Kayla's gun arm and holding the knife to her throat. The second guard pushed the barrel of her own pistol against Kayla's temple. The Guardian suddenly found herself caught in a very unpleasant situation.

"Stand down, Uldren," came a female voice from the gloom.

All eyes turned to the throne. Sitting down on it was a beautiful woman with icy eyes and heavenly, near translucent blue skin. Her long white hair fell slightly past her shoulders. She was wearing black combat pants and purple long sleeved corset-like shirt with a sleeveless, fur-necked pilot's jacket. The woman, Kayla presumed to be Queen Mara, sat down lazily on the throne.

"It is afraid of the Fallen," Mara explained. "It does not understand that these ones...are mine."

The Vandals stood at rest while the gunless guard yanked her gun back from Kayla. Uldren looked at her sister, and then forcefully pulled the blade away from Kayla's throat, leaving a shallow cut as a warning.

"Apologies, your grace," Uldren said, bowing slightly.

"So you should, dear brother," Mara said sternly, Ghost giving Kayla a surprised look. "You. Guardian. What do you want?"

"H-How are you a _Kell_?" Kayla asked automatically. "No, never mind that. I come from Earth. I have received..."

"A message from the future about the Vex, I heard," Mara finished, leaning forward. "Tell me what you need _me_ for."

Kayla looked at Ghost, then the Queen. "We need to find the Black Garden."

"Why?" Uldren asked.

"We seek to destroy the Darkness at its heart," Kayla replied.

"You wish to turn it into a battleground," Uldren said with a roll of his eyes. "How unimaginative."

"Look, do you know where it is?" Kayla asked, patience with the man wearing thin. That earned her a smirk from Mara. "Or don't you?"

"Everyone knows where it is," Uldren replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The hard part is getting _in!_ "

"Can. You. Help. Us?" Kayla growled.

Uldren smiled patronizingly, walking towards her again. "And why would we do that?"

"The Queen requests counsel with her brother," Mara said, shocking Uldren.

Uldren glared at Kayla, slowly turning and skulking back to the Queen like a little boy that had been told off. He kneeled before her, the pair talking between themselves. When they finished Uldren stood, a large smirk on his face, matching the smaller one on Mara's.

"Good...that's good. Why not?" he said, turning to Kayla with an exaggerated friendly demeanour. This only annoyed Kayla even more. "We'll make you a key," he continued. "How's that? All we need is the head of a Vex Gate Lord."

"A Gate Lord?" Ghost asked hesitantly. "Uh...we..."

"Why do you need a Vex head?" Kayla pressed.

"Oh, we don't," Uldren said simply. "And I doubt we'll get one either. But, as it stands, it's your only hope of getting into the Black Garden."

Kayla stared, pokerfaced, at Uldren. Finally she sighed and nodded. "We will return," she said confidently, only to be shot down by a sneering Uldren.

"Or die on Venus. Either way."

As soon as Kayla got back to her ship she headbutted her dashboard in frustration. "Uuuugh, he pissed me off!" Kayla grumbled.

"You amused the Queen though," Ghost chuckled.

"That's something," Kayla remarked, taking off with an Awoken escort. "She seemed nice enough. Now we just need the head of a Gate Lord." She looked at Ghost. "How do we find one?"

Ghost sighed. "This is why you need to check with me before making insane promises!" he said, slightly irritated. "Never mind. If we want to take down a...'Gate Lord', we're gonna need to know how these machines operate. Let's find the biggest Vex unit we can, pull out its brain, and see how they operate."

"You know that was a little dark for you," Kayla chuckled as they left the Reef.

-*GR*-

 _ **Venus**_

 _ **Ishtar Sink**_

 _ **The Shattered Coast**_

Kayla returned to the Academy, finding herself along the Shattered Coast. There was a slight breeze and the rain had let up from last time, the clouds in the sky allow the sun to break through a little. Kayla followed the co-ordinates Ghost had picked up from a large Vex unit somewhere down the coast, apprehensive about what she would find.

What she found first, however, was the Fallen. As expected these had different coloured cloaks to the rest; the House of Winter's were a turquoise colour.

The Fallen patrol fired on her as soon as they spotted Kayla. Kayla ducked behind a rusted car, avoiding the shock rounds. Peeking through the car door window she fired on them with her Suros rifle, popping the heads of the Dregs in quick succession. Before she had the chance to focus on the Vandals she heard the sound of a revolver going off.

Kayla turned to see a male Hunter dressed in black. He was wearing a gas mask-like helmet, a leather cuirass and gauntlets and boots that looked to made from bits of Fallen armour. He had several knife pouches and large kukri sheathed on his chest. The only speck of colour on him was a long, red and orange hooded cloak that bore the visage of a coyote. On his back was a camo grey painted Maria-MG3 machine gun and, in a holster on his right leg, was a desert camo coloured Rustam-D pistol. The Hunter was holding a revolver in the colours of the Future War Cult. Kayla recognized it as the Vanity.

The Hunter took down the Vandals with smooth precision headshots, Ether bursting out their skulls as they collapsed. The man chuckled and removed his gas mask. He looked to be in his early thirties, looking very much like a pretty boy with a cheeky grin, blue skin and a black quiff that made him look like an extra from an old 20th Century musical.

The man stood, smiling at Kayla. "Ma'am," he said, trying to act cool. Then he started coughing badly. "Oh, god...forgot about the smell."

Kayla laughed and walked up to him. "Smooth," she laughed.

"Eh, normally works," the man coughed between wretches, quickly putting his mask back on. "And may I see the beautiful face of the lovely lady I helped?"

Kayla was taken aback slightly. "I hope that's not how you talk to every girl you meet," she said, removing her helmet. "I'm Kayla."

The Hunter paused. "As in...the Archon-Slayer?"

Kayla blinked. "Are they _still_ calling me that?"

"It's become quite the little legend in the wilds," the Hunter replied. "I'm sorry, I haven't even told you my name. I'm Jaeger."

"You don't meet many Jaegers," Kayla grinned. "Thanks for the help."

"Are you...doing anythi-AAH!" Jaeger yelped as a crimson, glittery ghost appeared behind him, shocking him. "C-Cheryl, what the hell did I do now?!"

"I can't take you anywhere, can I?!" Cheryl snapped in a faint Manhatten accent, zapping him again.

"I was just saying hello!" Jaeger protested.

Cheryl huffed. "You'd better be"

Kayla glanced at Ghost. Ghost made a shrugging motion. Kayla turned back to Jaeger. "Well, Ghost and I are currently looking for Vex mind core."

"Why are you trying to do that?" Jaeger asked, eyes narrowing. "I haven't seen anyone go after those things willingly."

"It's...it's complicated," Kayla replied sheepishly. "We need to analyze one to find a Gate Lord. For...reasons."

Jaeger looked at Cheryl. "Don't get any ideas," Cheryl said sternly.

"Noted," he replied. "Alright, Kayla. I know about on old Ishtar research station called Campus 9. It's currently under Fallen control, but I can help you get there if you want."

"R-Really?" Kayla asked, surprised. "Sure!"

Jaeger grinned at set off along the Shattered Coast. Cheryl flew up to Kayla. "If he tries anything, let me know."

Kayla nodded then set off after him. The pair of Guardians head through a small valley on the other side of the Shattered Coast, arriving at a large cliff edge. Ghost confirmed that they were near the set of co-ordinates and Jaeger headed up a small hill to scout the area. Quickly crouching behind a rock he beckoned Kayla to follow him. When she caught up to him, she laid down on the damp grass beside him.

Jaeger pointed to a small ruin that was surrounded by Goblins. In the centre was a giant turret that looked like a large eye. Kayla figured that it was the Cyclops Ghost had mentioned "Is that what you're looking for?" Jaeger asked.

Ghost looked at the Cyclops. "Yup. That's the one."

Jaeger chuckled. "Your ghost sure knows how to pick 'em."

"Yeah. And he complains about me making insane decisions," Kayla said dryly, shooting a look at Ghost.

The pair of Guardians took off down the hill, firing on the Vex. The Cyclops was the first to notice them, firing on them with a heavy Void blasts, purple globules of plasma landed around the Guardians. While Jaeger focused his Vanity on the Goblins Kayla fired on the Cyclops with her machine gun. The Goblins seemed to realize this and focused their attention on her instead, forcing her to run to cover to avoid their blasts.

Jaeger noticed this, pulling out three knives and throwing them square into the mind cores of the Golbins, disabling them. The other Goblins turned to Jaeger as did the Cyclops. Kayla threw a Vortex Grenade at the Cyclops, bringing its attention back to her while Jaeger continued to fight the Goblins. Kayla fired furiously from her Nihilist causing the Cyclops to enter a berserk state. It fired blindly without care, even destroying the remaining Goblins. Kayla took cover while Jaeger grabbed his Maria and fired into the eye of the Cyclops. It whirred and squawked before exploding in a fantastic manner.

"And I thought the Hive were trouble," Kayla muttered, coming out from her cover. "Thanks. Again."

Jaeger grinned. "No worries. So what's this mission? Seems pretty ballsy to take on a Gate Lord."

"To cut a long story short," Kayla said, searching through the wreckage. "Someone told me the Vex want to rewrite physics. Don't ask me how or why, they just are. I need to find a place called the Black Garden, so to do _that_ I need to the head of Gate Lord for the Queen of the Reef. Aha!" Kayla triumphantly pulled out a black circular device filled with white fluid. She looked at Jaeger. "Found it! ...You ok?"

Jaeger had pulled his mask off, his face in a mixture of shock and admiration. He quickly ran up to her. "Y-You saw Queen Mara? I-Is she as beautiful as the legends say! You're so lucky! What did she say to you?!"

Kayla looked at Jaeger. "Buddy, your nose is bleeding. Is that normal?"

Cheryl zapped Jaeger once again then turned to Kayla. "He's always wanted to meet the Queen. Ignore him."

Ghost glanced at Kayla. "I don't think she'd entertain him," he said in a hushed whisper.

"You met Queen Mara Sov..." Jaeger said, mystified.

Kayla laughed and headed off, Jaeger following. They trudged through the ruins of that littered the cliffs coming across a large plateau with a hill that housed a large cream coloured block of stone. On the stone was a large brass circle that Kayla could swear was a gate. For some reason the enter area filled her with dread.

"Ah," Jaeger said, noticing her reluctance. "You can feel it too?"

"W-What is it?" Kayla asked.

"I don't know. I've had Cheryl scan it. She's said that that structure shouldn't exist. It doesn't age, it doesn't give off heat, radiation and it has no atomic mass" Jaeger trailed off, gazing at the structure.

"How's that possible?" Kayla protested, slightly scared. "I can see it!"

"Yup. It bothers people because it gives off...nothing."

The pair stared at the structure for a while, mesmerized. Kayla felt something grab her shoulder, making her jump. She instinctively pointed her gun at the assailant.

"Woah! Easy!" Jaeger said quickly. "You seemed out of it."

"Oh...s-sorry..." Kayla said sheepishly.

Jaeger grinned. "Don't worry 'bout it. Campus 9 is this way."

Jaeger headed off further along the cliffs. Kayla took one last look at the structure then followed close behind. Something was off about that place and she couldn't help but think that the Vex were behind it.

"So, I take it you're not from the Reef?" Kayla asked as they headed through an archway.

"Nope," Jaeger replied. "Earth, born and bred. From a settlement nearly Berlin. I think, anyway. It's all I remember after I was revived."

"Were you always a ladies man?" Kayla smirked.

"Ah, _that_ is a lie!" Jaeger said sternly. "I'm not some chauvinist!"

"Never said you were," Kayla laughed.

"G-Good!" Jaeger said, slightly taken aback.

"You're a good man, I can tell that. You don't need to worry about what I think."

Jaeger smiled back at her. "Thanks."

Eventually they came to a small ruin in the cliffs. Nestled between the alien structures was an old Earth sanctuary base, a small research station that was built be machines almost like a flat pack wardrobe. Like everywhere else on Venus the never ending jungle had swallowed it whole and palmtrees over a sort grew all over the structure. Above the trees was a tattered flag that read 'Campus 9'. Scattered across the camp was a patrol of Fallen.

"Damn it," Kayla hissed, preparing her Suros.

"No," Jaeger said, holding his hand out and smirking. "Let me."

Jaeger grabbed his kukri, suddenly becoming charged with lightning. He dashed off, blurry after images trailing behind him. Like the lightning the surrounded him he dashed across the camp, slashing and striking the Fallen with his blade, all of them falling to the ground, dead. Even the Captain leading them struggled as Jaeger darted around him in circles, finally landed a blow in the Captain's head. Stood on the Captain's shoulder Jaeger his kukri deeper into the Captain's skull before ripping it out and kicking the Captain back as pushed himself off, landing after a back flip.

"You show off!" Kayla laughed, walking up to him.

"Tell me about it," Cheryl chuckled.

"I can't win with you two around, can I?" Jaeger laughed.

Kayla then turned to Ghost. "Did you get anything from the mind cores?"

"Yeah," Ghost replied. "The Vex aren't robots."

Kayla's eyes narrowed. "Meaning?"

"Their mind cores are actually biological," Ghost explained. "I think they were a marine species originally, but they don't match any known life forms recorded. One thing I do know: they built all these ruins, including that giant spire."

"So...how does this help us find a Gate Lord?" Kayla asked.

"There's a terminal here," Cheryl said. "If you would like, I could help your ghost make sense of it? What is his name anyway?"

"Little Light," Kayla said, stifling a giggle.

"It is not!" Ghost protested. "I'm Ghost! Just Ghost!"

Jaeger looked at Cheryl and shrugged before the two ghosts headed to a terminal in a control centre at the back of the camp. While they worked Jaeger and Kayla set up a perimeter. Kayla inspected a dead Winter Fallen before glancing over at Jaeger, who was stood on top of a long narrow structure that Kayla was pretty sure used to be the bedrooms.

"Hey, Jaeger?" she shouted. Jaeger waved in response. "What can you tell me about the House of Winter? Beyond no Prime and no Archon."

Jaeger thought for a moment. "Kell Draksis is a known target, But every time we get near him he, uh...escapes. Whoever kills him'll be a popular son of a bitch, let me tell you. Ahm...they fought against the House of Scar, supposedly. Scar doesn't exist anymore so I'm assuming Draksis' House won, what else...? Oh! They keep trying to clear out the Academy. They seem to be one of the smarter Houses since they seem to be more interested in the data inside the Academy than the technology."

"That's worrying," Kayla said dryly.

"Tell me about it."

Suddenly the pair heard the noise of exposed electricity. Both of them pointed their weapons in the direction of the noise, only for Kayla's face to fall when she saw the fog surround them. "Vex, incoming!" Kayla warned, backing up.

"Noted!" Jaeger replied, backing up to the ghosts.

The pair fired on the Vex as the machines marched out, slow yet ominous. Exchange bullets and laser fire the Guardians seemed to be coming out on top until Kayla's hand got caught by the Line Rifle of a Hobgoblin.

"Ah, shit!" Kayla hissed as she dropped her gun, a thin cut in her glove. "Same fucking Vex! Jaeger?"

"Yeah?"

"Hobgoblins, need you to get rid of them!" Kayla ordered. Suddenly the familiar sound of Torch Hammers filled the area as Kayla saw three Minotaurs arrive out of the fog. "I'll keep the Minotaurs off your back!"

"On it!"

Jaeger took off to the right, using the trees and the barracks as cover. The Hobgoblins were currently distracted by Kayla which allowed Jaeger to move unseen. Taking up a position behind a rock Jaeger pulled out a small knife, throwing it into the core of a Hobgoblin. Its partner turned almost instantly, disturbingly instant, and fired on Jaeger with its rifle. Jaeger ducked down as the round took a bite out of the mossy rock. Jaeger whipped out his sidearm and fired quickly into the core of the Hobgoblin. It broke apart with a dying scream.

"Incoming!" Kayla yelled, gliding up to him and throwing a Vortex Grenade at a small squad of Goblins that had come running up to him.

"Yeah, they're quick little bastards," Jaeger said.

"Damn! Ghost, how are they so fast?" Kayla asked.

"The Vex share one mind across millions of units," Ghost said from the terminal.

"Basically if you kill one they adapt almost instantly and hunt down the assailant," Cheryl elaborated.

"So, cut off one head and two grow back?" Kayla said as she and Jaeger took down one of the Minotaurs. "Great..."

A second Minotaur swung around using its Torch Hammer as a club. Kayla ducked under it as she fired on it with her Nihilist while Jaeger dug his kukri deep in the gut of the Vex machine. It collapsed under a hail of bullets, dead. The final Minotaur squawked fiercely, more fog surrounding it.

"Fascinating..." Cheryl said. "They can warp in from star systems in an instant! The incoming Vex are from the Andromeda galaxy!"

Kayla felt a shiver run up her spine. The Vex were that far out?

Kayla and Jaeger watched as four flying Vex emerged from the fog. They looked almost like flying diamonds with thin, whip-like tentacles and a single red eye in the centre. Kayla assumed these were the Harpies Ghost had managed the day before. The Harpies moved to flank Jaeger and Kayla. The Hunter switched to his Vanity and began firing at the two Harpies coming near him, destroying them before they had a chance to attack him.

Kayla tried to focus on her Harpies but was knocked back by the Torch Hammer of the last Minotaur. The blast sent her careening back into a tree, injuring her back and winding her. She stumbled to her feet as the two Harpies began to relentlessly fire on her, forcing her to duck being cover.

"Head's up!" Jaeger shouted, throwing an Arc sticky grenade on to one of the Harpies. The grenade exploded, destroying the Harpy with the shrapnel from its body embedding itself in the eye of the second.

Kayla took the chance and fired at it with her NCV while Jaeger fired into the Minotaur with his Maria. Between them the Minotaur and the Harpy fell. The two Guardians waited with baited breath, anticipating another wave of Vex. After a few minutes passed the two Guardians finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"You fight pretty good!" Jaeger commended her.

"Thanks," Kayla grinned, heading back to the research station. "Hey, Ghost, have you found anything?"

"I...think so?" he replied slowly. "It's not pleasant though."

Jaeger looked at Kayla then the two ghosts. "What do you mean?"

"The Vex is a hive mind comprised of billions of units," Cheryl explained. "Each is part of a giant network spread through the mantle of the planet they're on, like an ant nest. They pass through the network out into the open through Transfer Gates, portals that act as a doorway between our worlds, in this case Venus, and their world. That's how they turned Mercury into a machine."

"And this helps us to find a Gate Lord...how?" Kayla asked.

"The Gate Lords act as, well...gatekeepers in the Vex system," Ghost said. "If we can tap into the system we can draw one out."

"Then all we need to do is kill it," Kayla said with a determined smile.

"You say that like it's that simple!" Ghost laughed.

The two ghosts disappeared back to their owners and Kayla and Jaeger headed back through the ruins to the Academy. It was quiet for now but Kayla knew it would be all too long before the Fallen or the Vex would come back. For now she was just grateful for the respite.

"So, this mission you're on?" Jaeger asked. "How serious is it?"

"Supposedly the Black Heart is stopping the Traveller from healing," Kayla replied. "So...pretty serious, yeah."

"And this...stranger, do you know her?"

"Nope. But she knows me. I have a gut feeling how, but I'd like to ask her about it next time I see her."

"Man, some people have all the luck!" Jaeger chuckled. "From Archon-Slayer to Traveller Saviour. That's what they'll be calling you next."

"Oh, god," Kayla groaned. "I think I'd rather die again."

Jaeger laughed at that. It was then that Kayla's radio beeped. She recognized the voice as Zavala.

"Kayla? Are you receiving?" he asked.

"Yeah, I can hear you, Commander," Kayla replied.

"Listen, I know you're on some sort of mission. And I haven't forgotten that you haven't told me what it is." Kayla grimaced as Zavala continued. "But, seeing as you're in the area of the Academy I would like you to help some Guardians deal with the House of Winter." Zavala sighed, and Kayla could sense the weight of worry on his shoulders. "We've got word they're planning something big and I'd rather have three Guardians ready than be too late. They'll be at the outpost by the Academy."

"I see..." Kayla said. "Don't worry, I'll help. And I promise I'll fill you in when I come back."

"Just make sure you do," Zavala said sternly.

When Zavala cut contact Kayla sighed.

"If you want, I could send a message for you?" Jaeger asked. "Relay it in brief about what you're doing."

"You'd do that?" Kayla asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yup. I title it 'The Raven Haired Beauty's Quest to Save Time and Space'!" he said dramatically.

"Not your best pick up line I'm sure," Kayla laughed.

"Nah, it ain't, Jaeger said with a cheeky grin. "Well I wish you luck. If you need a hand with the Vex be sure to let me know."

With that Jaeger teleported back to his ship, leaving Kayla to head to the outpost.


	16. 1-16) The Archive

**A/N:** Hey, all! I now have a DeviantArt account (shadowc1aw)! It will contain bits and pieces, BUT most importantly...character designs! Since I'm crap at describing things! You want to know what Kayla looks like? Now you can! Yaaaay

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ is owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only own Kayla and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 03:** The Ishtar Sink

 **Chapter 016:** The Archive

 _ **Venus**_

 _ **Ishtar Sink**_

 _ **Ishtar Academy**_

 _ **Guardian Outpost**_

By the time Kayla had made it back to the Academy the rain had picked up again. On the horizon over the sea she could see a storm starting to brew. Thick, sickly yellow clouds bubbled up over the water with flashes of lightning visible in the hurricane. Kayla coupled slightly. This was not something she wanted to be caught up in.

"Don't worry," Ghost said. "It's a few hours off yet."

"We'd better find shelter when it hits though," Kayla noted, heading along the coast.

When she got to the outpost she found it occupied by two Guardians. One was an Exo Hunter. He was silver coloured with a large, box shaped edge that bore the scars and tears of an experienced fighter. His eyes were a bright blue, yet weary and on either side of his head were two thin 'horns'. He wore a black, lightly armoured vest that marked him as Dead Orbit and dust coloured leather arm guards, sleeves and gloves. He pants and boots were leather also and camo coloured though the Hunter looked more at home on Mars than Venus. By his feet was a grey and red, insectoid helmet with a built in respirator, similar to the one Jaeger wore only Jaeger's seemed to have more in common with World War II gasmasks. His cloak was little more than a hood and the cape ended fairly swiftly, barely making it past the nape of his neck. The Hunter looked up at her, before going back to the book he was reading.

"Shakespeare," Kayla said. "I like it." The Hunter glanced up at her then turned back. Kayla chuckled awkwardly. "Haha, tough crowd."

The second Guardian was a female Titan, mature and professional. Kayla placed the woman to be in her early fifties at least. She had very pale skin and warm, welcoming green eyes. Her was a dark brown and kept short, falling just passed her ears and was kept in very short ponytail. The most dominating feature was a large scar that went diagonally across her face from just above her right eye, across her nose, and ending at just above her chin though the injury didn't detract from her beauty. The woman was dressed in a blue and white chest plate that was littered with ammo pouches. Her gauntlets were dark blue and accentuated by large, thick white shoulder guards. Her boots were heavy and dark blue, along with her pants and she had a handful of white ribbon dangling from her right thigh. Her white, red tinted helmet was perched on a log.

"Don't mind Shifter," the woman said warmly with a Dublin accent. "He's just quiet."

"Oh..." Kayla glanced at Shifter, who held his hand up to say hello. "Zavala asked me to..."

"Ah, so you're the third teammate?" the woman said, standing up and shaking Kayla's hand. "I'm Anora, captain of Fireteam Fenrir. This is Shifter-45, he was also stationed here to look into the House of Winter's activities."

"Kayla," Kayla smiled.

"I have to say Kayla..." Anora said, glancing at Kayla tattered grey robes. "You look like someone who can handle yourself but...your armour needs to be updated."

"Well, I'll be sure to do that when I get back to Earth," Kayla said sheepishly.

"Just lookin' out for you," Anora said sternly. "I don't want you getting hurt unnecessarily."

Kayla nodded. "So...the House of Winter?"

"Ah, yes! Shifter, would you care to explain?"

Shifter put his book down, and pulled up a map of the immediate area. "The Ishtar Sink is split into two sections," he said in a gravelly voice. "The west and the north around the volcano are under the control of the Fallen, the east and the south are under control of the Vex, with the Academy in dispute between the two." Shifter pointed to a small area in the centre of the map. "This is the Archive. It's supposed to be a gold mine of Golden Age information, but its right in the middle of a battleground between the Fallen and the Vex."

Kayla looked at Anora. "Is this what Zavala was talking about?"

"No," Anora said. "But it'd be stupid not to take advantage of the situation and clear out the Archive before the Fallen get their filthy claws on it. Do you wanna take care of it?"

Kayla was slightly taken aback. "Uh...sure," she said, slightly shocked. "C'mon Ghost."

Kayla took off back down the coast. When she was safely out of earshot Shifter turned to Anora. "You are aware of who she is, aren't you?" he asked.

"Of course I do," Anora said with a shrug. "But I'd like her to prove that she can handle herself, and that she's not some rookie that got lucky twice."

"That's rather shrewd of you," Shifter remarked.

"As a veteran of Six Fronts and Twilight Gap you learn to be."

* * *

 _ **Venus**_

 _ **Ishtar Sink**_

 _ **Ishtar Academy, Hall of Whispers**_

Kayla came up into the library where she'd fought the Vex the previous day. The corpses of the machines still littered the room but for the most part it was quiet, the only sound being the pattering of the rain outside. Kayla slowly made her way through the library, heading to a large wooden door. She opened it, the piercing _creak_ echoing in the gloom. As she peeked through the door, she found the corridor empty, overgrown and damp. However, the turquoise banners of the House of Winter were littered everywhere, notifying the Guardian to the Fallen's presence.

"Great..." Ghost groaned. "Let's just hope they haven't got to the Archive yet."

"For once, I hope the Vex are keeping them distracted enough," Kayla said dryly.

"Kayla?" Anora said over the radio. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I can hear you," Kayla replied.

"Good. Shifter scouted the place the past week. Turns out Baron Grayliks has crawled out Draksis' fleet to lead this operation. If you see him, take him out."

"Gotcha."

"Oh, one more thing. Winter lost their Prime Servitor, but their using a jury-rigged system involving Simiks-3, the last Servitor Simiks Prime managed to create. Supposedly Simiks-3 is mulling about down there, killing it could give us an advantage."

"Kill Simiks-3 and Baron Grayliks," Kayla confirmed. "Alright, I'll let you know when I'm done."

"Alright. Best of luck, Kayla."

Kayla got off her radio and skulked down the corridors of the old Academy. She wondered what the Academy must have looked like in the Golden Age, imagining the quiet corridors filled with bustling students, professors and doctors. It was sad, seeing what once the absolute centre of learning reduced to a damp, decrepit ruin occupied by scavenging alien pirates. Kayla remembered she used to look up at the sky filled with hope, but now, sneaking through the ruins of a lost era, she could only feel regret. Regret at not being able to save her family. Regret at not being able to do more to push back the forces that had come to scavenge the corpse of the Golden Age like vultures. She sighed, pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind like she had done so many times before now.

Kayla came to a circular plaza. It had a large, collapsed statue of the planet Venus in the centre and was surrounded by dilapidated buildings and was currently embroiled in a fierce battle between the Fallen and the Vex.

"Shit..." Kayla gasped, watching the battle unfold in front of them.

"They haven't noticed us," Ghost said. "We can help the Vex defeat the Fallen, but I recommend ignoring them afterwards. The Archive is through the building the Fallen are guarding."

"Of course it is," Kayla said dryly, through a Vortex Grenade into the crowd of Fallen and firing at them with her Suros. She noticed the Vex eye her with caution, but they decided to pay her no mind for now.

Kayla knew it wouldn't last long.

As she pushed up the plaza she saw a Captain leading the charge. Ignoring the Vandals and Dregs Kayla rushed in close to the Captain, firing her NCV at him. The lances of electricity ripped his shield away and pierced the Fallen's body. Kayla switched to her Suros and finished the Captain with a headshot. The Dregs and Vandals stood aghast in surprise and shock allowing Kayla to dash further into the building. Some tried to follow but the Vex pushed their offensive, forcing the Fallen to focus on them.

Kayla slipped into the building, finding herself in an atrium filled with foliage. It was filled to the brim with Fallen Vandals and Dregs. In the middle was a large Servitor that had three large blocks around its eye. Kayla presumed this was Simiks-3. Kayla looked at the oblivious Fallen then shrugged to herself, throwing a Nova Bomb into the crowd. It exploded violently, killing the Fallen. However, Simiks-3 was sent spinning into the wall, whirring angrily.

"What has happened?!" it yelled in a shrill mechanical voice. "Report! Report!"

Kayla jumped down from the platform she was on, walking up to the Servitor. "You're not as mouthy as Sepiks Prime was," she said, pointing her Suros at Simiks-3.

"What have you done?" Simiks asked in utter disbelief.

"What does it look like?" Kayla retorted.

"No...I must have knowledge!" Simiks-3 said, flying up to a section of the wall that was covered in branches and vines. "I must know! I must _know_ what these machines are!"

"Wait, the Archive has info on the Vex?" Kayla asked, gun still pointed at the damaged Servitor.

"They will help revive Simiks Prime! Make House Winter great again!" Simiks-3 cried. "I _must_ know!"

Kayla watched the Servitor as it tried frantically to break through the wall. And now for the difficult part. Funnily enough she always found the Fallen to be the hardest to deal with. Not on an emotional level like the Hive, but on a personal one. The Fallen reminded her so much of humanity in so many ways.

Sighing, Kayla pointed her Suros at Simiks-3 and fired. The Servitor collapsed on the floor, rolling into a dark corner.

"Must...know..." Simiks whirred quietly, the light in its centre dimming.

"Anora?" Kayla said, getting in touch with the Titan.

"What is it, Kayla?"

"Simiks-3 is dead. No sign of Grayliks though."

"Really? That's fantastic!" Anora said happily. "Keep an eye out though. Simiks-3's death won't have gone unnoticed; Grayliks could very well be on his way down to you now. Be careful."

Kayla cut the radio, walking up to Ghost as he scanned the body of Simiks-3. "It seems its database was nearly empty. Not having any knowledge for so long...almost a tragedy."

Kayla glanced over at Simiks-3 then moved to the wall it was banging against. Moving aside the shrub and branches she found a large, black steel door. "I think we've found the Archive," she said.

"I'll get on it," Ghost said, flying to a computer terminal. "Hmm...radial-A encryption..."

"Is that bad?"

"It means they were serious about keeping people out. Shouldn't take a sec...done."

The door slowly slide open, branches and plant life falling down as it did. When it opened Kayla could see a long spiral staircase that seemed to go down forever. Ghost flew towards her, looking at the staircase.

"After you, of course," he said.

"Oh, you're so kind," Kayla chuckled.

Kayla set off down the dark staircase, Ghost providing a flashlight. Eventually they came to another door which Kayla tried to move. She looked at Ghost for answered but before he could provide one a bright light scanned her. After a moment the light went green and the door slid open.

Kayla gasped at the sight before. The room was a essentially a giant server room, containing rows upon rows of computers and a large central terminal at the back. She could feel the ventilation working but the room was still uncomfortable hot due to the heat of the still functioning computer system.

Kayla looked around, stunned. "I can't believe all the power-"

" _WELCOME!_ " came a cheery female computerized voice that made Kayla jump. "Dr Shim!Please provide your security clearance code!"

"Dr Shim?" Ghost asked, confused. "...Never mind. The terminal's up ahead. Kayla?" He turned Kayla, who was pouting like a child. "Kayla?"

"It thought I was a _guy!_ " Kayla protested. "How do I look like a _guy?_ " She asked, pointing down herself. "I know I'm...small, but that's...!" Ghost zapped Kayla. She yelped. "Will you stop that?!"

"Kayla. Terminal. Let's go," Ghost said.

"Oh...right, sorry," Kayla said, laughing sheepishly.

Kayla walked through the Archive, footsteps echoing in the gloom. The only light came from the flickering lights in the computer terminals and Kayla stumbled over cables more than once. Eventually Kayla came to the central terminal, letting Ghost scan it.

"Amazing!" he said. "This is more extensive than the Archive at Old Accra. Let's see..."

"Shall I begin correlation of Vex Mind core samples, Dr Shim?" the computer asked.

Ghost glanced at Kayla. "So polite! Go for it," she said with a shrug.

Ghost continued scanning the terminal. "Oh, here's something interesting. Vex programming. There are quite few, most seem to be localized to Venus. Here we have the Hezen Corrective, and the Hezen Protective. Both are brass coloured, only the latter has white lines as well...they seem to be working on the Citadel. You know? That giant spire?" Kayla nodded and Ghost continued. "They seemed to have traced one to Mars the...Virgo Prohibition. There's two more; the Sol Divisive which are unknown. And the Aphix Invasive. That programming exists as a 'security force' in the..."

"I see what you're trying to do, Guardian," came a voice booming over the intercom. It was distinctly Fallen. "And I must tell you it will not work."

A face came on the screen. It was of a large Fallen Captain dressed in a Baron's headdress and wore an ornate turquoise cloth around his left eyes. Kayla could make out burned flesh under his headdress.

"Baron Grayliks of the House of Winter, I presume?" Kayla asked.

"Yes, Guardian," Grayliks replied. "You've caused a lot of trouble for my cousins on Earth. Word has got back to us, Prime-Bane."

"Is that what I'm called now?" Kayla asked Ghost.

"You may have defeated Simiks-3 but..." Grayliks laughed and Kayla could hear his mandibles clicking. "You have done us a favour in the end."

Kayla made a face, confused. Then she slowly looked at Ghost. "You...did remember to close the door, didn't you?"

"Uh oh..."

"You didn't close the door?!"

"Dr Shim, security breach detected!" the computer announced in a panicky voice. "Intruders! Initiating Protocol 19!"

"No, no, no...!" Ghost groaned in dismay, scanning the terminal. "It's erasing the data! Kayla, hold off the Fallen, I'm going to take all I can!"

"Already on it!" Kayla said, heading towards the incoming waves of Dregs, Vandals and Shanks.

The Dregs were the easiest to deal with and Kayla took them down with swift headshots. The Shanks were next, flanking her will the Vandals fired at her with their wire rifles. Kayla ducked behind a terminal, firing at the Shanks to her right with her Suros. When they were destroyed she stayed behind the terminals and fired on the Vandals, ending them with quick precision kills. Kayla then turned her attention to the remaining Shanks as they came into view, destroying them quickly. Suddenly Kayla heard some of the computers power down.

"Remote hub failure," the computer announced.

"Damn it!" Ghost shouted. "They've got a Servitor draining the power!"

"I got it!" Kayla shouted, seeing a Servitor hacking another terminal by the staircase.

"Give it up, Prime-Bane!" Grayliks growled over the intercom. "Take your machine and we will let you leave in peace."

"Is that what Draksis ordered?" Kayla asked sceptically as she took down a trio of cloaked Vandals.

"Draksis need not know what happened here."

"You seem almost amicable," Kayla said, charging the Servitor with her Nihilist, destroying it. "Thing is, I'd rather you guys not know about the Vex. No offence."

"But you believe _you_ should have it?" Grayliks countered.

" _No one_ should have it!" Kayla shouted. "I'm trying to stop the Vex! Ghost, how are we doing?"

"Haha!" Ghost laughed triumphantly. "They may have stopped me downloading it, but they've stopped it from being erased as well!"

"Which means Grayliks is serious..." Kayla sighed, disappointed that she'd found yet more problems with the Fallen. "No. Stopping the Vex comes first."

Yet another power cut occurred. "Kayla! They're in the vents!" Ghost asked.

Kayla headed up onto one of the walkways above them, reloading her Nihilist, but she was charged by more cloaked Vandals. Kayla ducked under one of their electrified swords, Palm Striking the Vandal in the chest. She watched as the Void disintegrated it, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. One of the other Vandals noticed this and sliced leg, tearing her pants and cutting her above the knee. Kayla yelped, punching the offending Vandal and killing with her NCV, before barrelling over the last Vandal and pouring several bullets from her Suros into it. As the Vandal collapsed, Kayla grabbed one of their swords as she figured Grayliks would be coming, and she'd rather have her Nihilist ready for him. She charged the oblivious Servitor and rammed the sword into its eye. The Servitor collapsed, powering down.

"How you doing, Ghost?" Kayla asked from the balcony.

"Almost got it," Ghost replied. "But I have bad news."

"Grayliks?"

"You know me so well."

Kayla stayed up on the balcony as Grayliks came in, brandishing a shrapnel launcher. He was alone. The Warlock noticed that he walked with a considerable limp, and one of his arms was missing. This Baron was old, and probably fought in several battles against the City.

' _Ohhhh, he's pissed..._ ' Kayla thought to herself.

"Prime-Bane!" Grayliks shouted. "Surrender the human Servitor and leave now!"

Human Servitor? "He must mean the Archive..." Kayla whispered to herself before standing, aiming the Nihilist at the Baron. "Grayliks!"

Grayliks head shot up. Slowly he smiled. "Prime-Bane. What is your real name?"

"Kayla," she replied. "Look, I can't let you take this Archive. For two reasons: I don't trust Draksis with that information." Grayliks seemed to scoff in agreement. Kayla continued. "And right now, I have my hands full with those machines out there. I _need_ this information to stop them. The House of Winter is the least of my problems right now! And if I'm honest." Kayla lowered her gun. "I don't want to kill you."

Grayliks seemed to sigh. "I understand, Prime-Bane. There was a valley outside your fortress. I fought there. Kell Draksis seemed to get worse after that. The notion of peace is an honourable and, in other circumstances, I would honour it." Grayliks then levelled a solemn, serious look at Kayla. "But Draksis will turn me into a Dreg if I do not return with your Servitor's information." The Baron noticed Kayla shift uncomfortably.

"I will beat you," Kayla said.

Grayliks smiled but said nothing, firing his Shrapnel Launcher at the young Warlock. Kayla vaulted the balcony and ran up to him, Nihilist ready. The old Baron ran as fast as he could towards her, throwing down his shrapnel launcher and pulling out twin swords. Before he could react Kayla filled him with lead. The Baron stumbled slightly, collapsing as blood and ether poured out of him.

"You didn't have to do that," Kayla said quietly.

"Better...dead...than...a Dreg," Grayliks wheezed before silently passing.

Kayla took off her helmet and wiped her eyes before kicking a computer terminal, screaming in frustration. After standing for a moment in silence she headed back to Ghost. Her companion slowly nudged her face reassuringly.

"I'm sorry," Ghost said.

"Yeah, yeah..." Kayla said bitterly, getting in contact with Anora. "Grayliks is dead."

Anora paused for a moment, hearing the slight disappointment in Kayla's voice. "Thank you, Kayla," she said finally. "You can tell me more when you get back."

When Kayla switched off her comms unit she turned to Ghost. After heaving a heavy sigh and biting back tears she spoke. "The Aphix Invasive."

"What? Oh! Yes!" Ghost exclaimed. "I found several stuff alongside Vex programming. The Milky Way and Andromeda aren't the only galaxies they're in; they have pathways to thousands of galaxies."

"Almost like a virus," Kayla scoffed.

"Yeah. They can also predict events with pinpoint accuracy. There's a log from Dr Shim about how they got trapped in a Vex simulation. Apparently a Warmind, Malahayati, had to intervene to save them."

"Oh, god, _that_ was what that was?" Kayla gasped in shock. "I remember hearing about that on the news, they never said what had happened. Wait...can they simulate us?"

"I'm not sure, but given how the Vex we've fought were defeated I'd hazard a guess at no. Don't take my word for it, though."

"Anything else before we go?"

"Yes...The Ishtar Collective discovered a 'Vex underworld'; a place they called the Vault of Glass."

Kayla looked at the map that Ghost had pulled up. There was a large marker in the middle of the Vex ruins and Kayla's mind drifted back to what Jaeger had said.

 _It bothers people because it gives off...nothing._

"It can't be..." Kayla whispered, shuddering.

"You ok?"

"Yeah...forward all that to Master Rahool. I imagine he'll want to see it," Kayla said, heading for the staircase. "Let's just get back to the outpost."

* * *

 _ **Venus**_

 _ **Wintership Simiks-Fel**_

The House of Winter's Ketch was quiet. Only the faint hum of the engines could be heard as the ship escaped yet another Guardian attack. In the throne room sat the giant Kell Draksis, leader of the House of Winter. His armour was black and silver, covering him from head to toe. On his head was a majestic horned helmet that was hooked up to a respirator on his back. His neck line was covered in the fur of the creatures he had slain in the Sol System and he was dressed in the banners of Winter. He was napping.

"Kell Draksis," Nulsis, a young Captain greeted. "Um...Sir? Sir!"

"Nngh...What is it...boy?" Draksis said with a yawn, vaguely annoyed that his sleep had been interrupted.

"Ah...it's not exactly _easy_ to say, Sir..."

Draksis sat up, a hand reaching for the Scorch Cannon by his throne. "Oh, please, just call me Draksis."

Nulsis fumbled around. "W-well, Draksis..."

" _Sir_ Draksis!"

"Y-Y-Yes! Sir Draksis! My apologies!"

Draksis' manner changed to a more welcoming one. "Well, go on! What are you waiting for?"

"It seems that Grayliks failed to data mine the human Servitor," Nulsis said nervously. Draksis' eyes narrowed. "A-And Simiks-3 was destroyed." Nulsis finished.

Draksis leaned forward. "I'm sorry, what did you say? It sounded like Grayliks _FAILED!_ "

"T-To be fair, there was a Guardian there that-"

Draksis stood up, picking the young Captain by the throat and screaming in his face. " _Failed! FAILED! FFFFFFFFFFFFFAILED!_ "

"I-I'm sure we can make up for it!" Nulsis choked out. "I've got word from the Reef that Archon Aksor has successfully be broken out of the Prison of Elders!"

"Little boy, let me tell you something," Draksis said, returning to his calm demeanour but still carrying Nulsis like a ragdoll. "The Kell of Kings asked us to do that for him. No, no, no! His _Barons_ asked us to do that for him. Now, I trust that pampered prince as little as I trusted my father."

"I-I'm sure he wasn't that bad..." Nulsis dared to say.

"My father hated children," Draksis said. "He tried to _eat_ me. But, unlike my father, breaking Aksor out of the Prison of Elders means we _owe_ the Kell of Kings. And that is not a position I want to be in."

"S-So, what do you want to do with Aksor?"

"Why, I'm going to _keep_ him as a bargaining chip, of course!" Draksis laughed, bringing Nulsis close to his face. "Then the Kell will _have_ to listen to me."

"A-Are you sure that's wise, Draksis?"

Draksis' frowned. "What did you say?"

"I-I said are y-y-you sure t-that's wise, Draksis?" Nulsis gulped.

Nulsis quickly found himself being dragged to the bottom of the Ketch, all the Fallen around not wanting to get in the way of Draksis in one of his rampages. Slowly Draksis made his way to the cargo bay, opening its giant door. The Kell stood there, unconcerned of the giants containers of ether that were falling out. When the cargo door fully opened Draksis dragged Nulsis over the edge, giving the terrified Captain a good, vertigo inducing view of his destination. Nulsis was frozen in fear and didn't even realize when Draksis dropped him.

Draksis watched the Captain tumble through the sulphurous clouds. "That's _Sir_ Draksis," he growled before heading back inside.


	17. 1-17) Winter's Run

**A/N:** To clarify: yes, I know Aksor is officially the (former) Archon to Kaliks Prime and the House of Wolves. However, his colour scheme is that of the House of Kings plus the Kings banners are scattered around the boss arena which highly suggests the House of Kings were involved.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ is owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only own Kayla and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 03:** The Ishtar Sink

 **Chapter 017:** Winter's Run

 _ **Venus**_

 _ **Ishtar Sink**_

 _ **Shattered Coast, Guardian Outpost**_

By the time Kayla had returned the storm had hit the coast. Acidic rain poured onto the land, turning the cliffs into a slippery, boggy quagmire. Kayla's cuts burned as the rain hit the skin that was exposed by her various injuries. In her absence the other two Guardians had put up a waterproof tarp as a roof. Anora was the first to greet her, handing her a warm can of baked beans.

"Sorry it's not much," she said apologetically.

"Don't worry about it," Kayla smiled, shovelling the beans in with a spoon. "God, I never thought baked beans would taste so good!"

Anora smiled warmly as Shifter sat down next to them. "So...what did you find?" Shifter asked.

"An awful lot of info on the Vex," Kayla replied. "It's...worrying to say the least."

Shifter nodded quietly, thinking. "Who asked you to do this?" he said, eyes narrowing.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Kayla chuckled, scraping the remnants from the can.

"Try me."

Kayla eyed the Exo Hunter.

"This is the most I've heard you speak, Shifter," Anora said with a small chuckle.

Kayla stared at Shifter-45. He was staring back, face completely unmoveable and unreadable. The Hunter gave away very little and Kayla was unsure whether or not he would take her seriously. From what she could gather from him was that Shifter was a very respectable, serious person, almost arrogant in the way he carried himself.

But...there something that convinced Kayla that he would believe her. So she told them both the story of the Stranger's message when she went into the Chamber of Night that led her to Venus, where the Stranger warned her of a terrible future that awaited them. Shifter remained unfazedwhile Anora was speechless.

"I've seen and heard plenty of weird things since Boadicea woke me," Anora said, taking a drink of cheap beer. "That's...That's up there."

"What, you don't believe me?" Kayla asked, slightly annoyed.

"No, it's not _that_..." Anora began.

"I believe you," Shifter said, surprising everyone.

The pair stared at him in shock, Anora more so than most. During her time with Shifter she had known the man to be quite aloof, almost uncaring. He was a man of few words, and while Anora knew he respected her she was aware that Shifter's respect was hard to earn. To say something like this to such a, frankly, absurd story...

' _There's more to what's going on here_ ' Anora thought to herself.

"What did you say?" Kayla asked slowly.

"I said I believe you," Shifter repeated.

Kayla stared at him in disbelief. "You've met her?" she asked after a moment. "Haven't you?"

Shifter didn't say anything. Instead he left to sit outside in the rain. Kayla looked at Anora, who shrugged. "You've got his respect," she said. "That's not something that's easy to do."

Kayla glanced over at Shifter. He was sat with his feet off the cliff, staring out over the sea. She was right. He had seen the Stranger. But...there's something more to it than that. The way he looked at her when she told him. It was a look of almost mourning.

And it involved the Stranger.

Kayla looked down at the empty can in her hands. The more she learned of the Stranger and the Vex the more she wanted to run as far away from it all as possible.

"You sense it too?" Anora asked, chomping an energy bar.

"What happened to him?" Kayla asked back.

"I don't know," Anora replied, running a hand through her hair. "I've only known the man for a week. He's said more to you than he has to me. I'm sure he'll tell you when he's ready."

"You're that sure?"

"He likes you. Even if he doesn't acknowledge you, he considers you a friend." Suddenly the data pad beside Anora beeped. "Oh...hello, Cayde. Got any news for us?"

"Yes! Finally!" Cayde's voice chuckled. "Bet you were just waiting in anticipation, weren't you?"

"No, not really," Anora laughed.

"Ahhh, you always know how to break my heart!"

"The fact that you've said I remind you of your mother makes that seriously disturbing if I'm honest."

"Eh, I'm an Exo so it doesn't count anyway," Cayde replied. Kayla could imagining him literally waving the subject away. "So, I've got some news from a guy called Variks in the Reef. Nice guy. Bit odd. Anyway, Draksis has ordered a mercenary, _Taniks_ ," Cayde practically seethed the name. "To bust out a Wolf Archon Priest, Aksor, from the Prison of Elders. I'll admit, that was a pretty gutsy move on Winter's part. The Queen's bounty is high, so we know the Archon is powerful, but they tend to be. You guys need to head into their stronghold in the Cinders and kill Aksor before Draksis' Ketch picks him up. Stay safe!"

When Cayde finished Anora put on her helmet, her demeanour changing to a professional one. "Well, Archon-Slayer," she said as she stood. "Time to see if you live up to your name. Shifter! We're going!"

Shifter waved in response and Anora took off on her Sparrow, with Shifter and Kayla close behind.

* * *

 _ **Venus**_

 _ **Ishtar Sink**_

 _ **Cinders**_

The trio came up to the Cinders, a large plateau covered in volcanic springs and dominated by small streams of acidic rainwater due to the ongoing storm. Before them was a steep cliff to a large active volcano that was spewing ash and smoke into the storm above, the only thing merging into a lightning filled hell storm that Kayla thought would give Mordor a run for its money. The trio came up to a large, makeshift metal ramp that led into a large cave. No sooner had they arrived the Fallen at the entrance began firing on the strike team.

"Alright you two," Anora said over the radio. "The coordinates Boadicea's picked up says that they're deep in the cave system. We're against the clock, people, so double time it!"

With that Anora leaped off her Sparrow, using the momentum to fly onto the metal walkway. The Fallen gathered around under her and Kayla heard Anora chuckle over the comms. To Kayla's surprise Anora came crashing down in a ball of lightning, killing the Fallen around her and throwing up volts of live Arc Light. Shifter and Kayla caught up to her, finding her killing a Captain with a Party Crasher shotgun.

"What the hell was that?" Kayla asked, admiring the attack.

"What? You've never seen Fist o' Havoc?" Anora asked.

"That was amazing!" Kayla shouted like a little kid.

"Haha, just wait til you see what Shifter can do!"

The trio dashed through the caves. Like everywhere else in the area it was filled with volcanic springs and Kayla could feel the sticky heat surround her. Any closer to the volcano and Kayla thought they would bake in there. I didn't take them long before they heard gunshots. Anora motioned for the team to approach slowly, taking care not to step into the pools of water.

Anora's silvery ghost, Boadicea, appeared beside her. "I'm detecting multiple signatures," Boadicea said in a distinctly Welsh accent. "We ought to be careful, Ma'am."

"Noted," Anora said.

Eventually the trio came to a narrow gap from which they could see a large cavern. From where they were they could see a swarm of Vex, led by a large floating centipede-like unit firing on the Fallen inside.

"Vex!? Here!?" Kayla asked, surprised.

"They must have followed the House of Winter here from the Academy," Anora mused. "Shifter! Tether!"

Shifter silently moved up to point, summoning a large bow of Void Light. Slowly he pulled the string back, an arrow of Void Light forming in place. Marking his shot Shifter released the arrow into the group of Vex. When it landed an anchor of Void Light appeared, shooting out tendrils to the surround Vex. The machines all stopped, turning to look at Shifter. The Exo smirked and backed down as Anora pulled out a Smolder rocket launcher, firing a large incendiary rocket at the Vex destroying them all apart from the large floating one.

"Hydra's still up!" Anora shouted. "Take it down!"

Kayla moved to the front, firing at the Hydra's eye with her Suros. The giant Vex collapsed on the floor and exploded in a giant fireball. With the Vex gone the three Guardians poured into the cavern, stunning the Fallen even more. A roar rang through the caves, a sign of the Fallen rallying together against the threat that was charging its way through.

Anora was the first in, slamming down with another Fist of Havoc and killing the Dregs that had gathered in the centre. Kayla was next in, ducking behind a rock as the Vandals fired on her with their wire rifles. Shifter strolled up with a thin dark blue 20/20 AMR7 sniper rifle and fired on the Vandals, the rounds ripping through their bodies and a way that could only be done by armour piercing rounds.

"Thanks!" Kayla said.

Shifter said nothing as Kayla led the charge up the back of the cavern, taking down a Captain with her NCV while being supported by Shifter. Anora watched the young Warlock power through the Fallen, fierceness in her actions. That made her wonder about what happened with Grayliks all the more. Anora looked at Shifter, he gave her the thumbs up and fired on another Captain as it tried to stab Kayla. The Captain stumbled slightly, allowing Kayla to finish it with her pulse rifle.

"She's got spunk," Anora laughed, pulling out a futuristic white and red auto rifle. "I like it."

Shifter chuckled slightly and the pair took off after Kayla. When they caught up they noticed Kayla finishing off a Vandal with a Palm Strike. She was panting slightly but her eyes widened at the gun. "I-Is that the Regime?" she asked. "How do you have a Golden Age weapon?"

"Oh, this?" Anora asked. "This isn't the original. The Suros foundry remade it. It's quite handy. Listen, can I have a chat with you?"

"What about?" Kayla asked as the trio set off through the caves.

"The Fallen. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but there seems to be something between you and them?"

Kayla fumbled for a moment. Finally she told the pair about Rahn, who had accused the Guardians of hording the Traveller, and Aksis, who had been visible broken by the defeat of Sepkis Prime and had sworn revenge on her. Finally she told Anora about Grayliks, the Baron that had goading Kayla into mercy killing him for fear of becoming a Dreg.

"Huh..." Anora said. "Never thought of the Fallen like that."

"Then you're a fool, Anora," Shifter said. "Every race is here for a reason."

"And that reason is?" Anora asked tersely.

"The Fallen are a warning," Shifter replied. "They're what we'd become if we lose this war."

A silence drifted over the group as they came out to a large canyon at the side of the volcano. Kayla could see lava flowing down the side of the volcano, making the sea below boil, as flakes of ash landed around them. Before her was a rocky pathway along the giant canyon wall. Kayla coughed, the toxic fumes from the volcano squeezing her lungs.

"Jaysus..." Anora wretched. "That's fresh!"

"I can't smell anything," Shifter said dryly, earning a slap from Anora.

"You got a gas mask, o' course you won't!" she shouted. "Damn robot."

Shifter merely chuckled and headed off down the pathway in the rocks. Anora and Kayla looked over the valley. Something was off about this.

"What do you think this is, Kayla?" Anora asked.

"It looks like a docking bay," Kayla replied after a moment.

"Aye," Anora said, turning to follow Kayla. "And we know what's gonna be there."

The pair joined Shifter at a large door in the cliffs. Ghost appeared next to Kayla and scanned the door. "This is the way through alright. But with the Vex lingering around I imagine the House of Winter are going to be well protected, even if they aren't expecting us."

Shifter summoned his ghost. "Sebastian, can you unlock this door."

"I can do _more_ than work as a key and your flashlight, you know?" Sebastian lamented in a soft voice.

Sebastian got to work hacking the Fallen console while the Guardians kept watch. It didn't take long for the familiar fog that preceded the Vex and the group held tight to the doorway. First came the Goblins, firing their slap rifles at the Guardians. They were the easiest to defeat as usual but they were followed up by Minotaurs, forcing the trio to scatter. As Kayla made her way through the plateau before them she was caught yet again by a line rifle, this time cracking her helmet and causing her to fall to the ground. Anora noticed and turned to Shifter.

"Shifter, get on those Hobgoblins _now!_ " she cried.

Shifter quickly pulled out his 20/20 and began firing on the two Hobgoblins that were on the walkway through had come down. Anora took down one of the Minotaurs, heading over to Kayla and scooping her up.

"Kayla, are you alright?" Anora asked hurriedly.

"Damn, Hobgoblins!" Kayla said, angrily pounding the ground. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good," Anora said sternly. "Now get up! The Vex are still here."

Kayla nodded and helped Anora take down the second Minotaur while Shifter managed to defeat the last one with his Palindrome revolver, a bullet piercing the Vex's head. No sooner had they defeated the Vex fog surrounded them once more, this time bring several Harpies and two Hydra's. Anora pushed Kayla behind a rock as one of the Hydras fired twin mortars of Void Light at her, Anora being sent flying.

"Anora!" Kayla cried.

As the dust cleared she could see Anora standing up, Boadicea patching her up. She gave Kayla a thumbs up. Kayla nodded and pulled out her Nihilist, peeking up over the rock. From a distance she could see Shifter firing at the second Hydra with his sniper rifle, ducking periodically to avoid its mortars. He was safe. Good.

Kayla shuffled around the rock to avoid an annoying Harpy, the first Hydra still firing on Anora. She peeked out again, firing at the Hydra, screaming angrily. They Hydra turned menacingly and began firing at Kayla. She took cover again but this time she could see Anora running up to her.

"Good job!" she sound, jumping on the rock and leaping into the Hydra, punching it square in the face, heavily denting the side of it. "Shifter!" Anora shouted. Without saying anything Shifter rolled out, firing at the Hydra with his 20/20 and destroying it in a mighty explosion before ducking back behind another rock. "Thank you!"

With one Hydra down Kayla focused on the Harpies, moving swiftly to avoid the laser rounds they fired. She took down one with a Palm Strike, throwing a Vortex Grenade at the other and taking down two more with her NCV. Finally she charged the remaining Harpy. The flying Vex unit managed to fire off a few lasers, striking Kayla in the stomach, burning it. Kayla ignored the pain and took it down with her pulse rifle. When she had finished she noticed Anora had finished kill the Hydra. The Titan walked up to her.

"Looking a lil worse for wear there, Kayla," she noted.

"I've had worse," she said, grinning sheepishly while Ghost healed her. "Once had a Hive sword through here." She motioned to her chest. "Still have the scars to prove it."

Anora didn't say anything and Kayla could feel the frustration coming from her. "This isn't a joke," Anora said sternly. "And I'm sure you know that!"

Kayla's grip on her gun tightened. "Of course I do," Kayla said, levelling a glare.

Anora sighed. "I just don't want you to wind up in a situation where you lose Ghost," she said, causing Kayla's mind to drift back to the fight with Sardok. "Fight smarter, not harder. And for God's sake get some new armour!"

Kayla was slightly taken aback, but nodded. She quickly got in touch with Jaeger and requested him to get her some new armour.

"I'll owe the Glimmer, just deliver it to the Ishtar Sink!" Kayla said, frustrated. Jaeger was enjoying that thought way too much.

When the trio came back to the door Sebastian turned to them.

"Well, I have opened the door for you," the soft spoken ghost said. "We may proceed. Oh, I also intercepted Fallen comms, the cell is at the end of the valley. Draksis has ordered it not to be opened, though...I'm not sure why."

"We don't need to know the how or the whys," Anora said once the door opened. "We need to get moving."

The trio didn't waste any time and took to their Sparrows, speeding down the volcanic valley. The wind had picked up into a gale and rain smacked into Kayla's visor. The ground beneath them had become a small torrent in the storm and Kayla was glad to be on her hoverbike.

"Hey, guys?" Kayla shouted over the engine. "What is the Prison of Elders?"

"The Reef's personal jail," Anora replied. "Or gladiator ring, allegedly. All I know is I don't want to see what's in there."

Kayla made a face as they came to cliff edge. She didn't think the Reef, a settlement hidden in a ship graveyard, had the power to capture an Archon. And there were creatures _worse_ than that in there? Kayla shuddered at the thought.

The trio scaled the cliff edge, eventually coming to a crack in the rocks. On the other side they could see a small Fallen outpost. Anora looked at the others. "Guess this is the place," she said, climbing through the crack, Shifter and Kayla following.

On the other side of the crevice the House of Winter were fighting the Vex. Kayla could see it had been converted to a makeshift landing bay. In the centre by the cliff was a large pod that Kayla recognized as one of the cryopods that the Clovis Bray corporation had design and, from inside, she could see the face of Aksor.

But there was something...off. And it didn't take Kayla long to realise.

"Those are King banners," Kayla said, pointing to the golden banners that had been draped around the cliff.

Shifter's eyes narrowed. "Why would they be involved?" he asked aloud.

"We can worry about that later," Anora said. "We have ten minutes until Draksis' Ketch arrives, and I doubt we all want the damn Wintership on our backs."

Shifter and Kayla nodded, the three of them jumping into the fray. The presence of the Guardians caught both factions by surprise, the trio taking down the Dregs with relative ease. The Goblins were smarter, flanking around the Captain and the team and firing on them. Kayla took the chance, jumped on the Captain's back while it was busy trying to kill the Vex. The Captain, caught off guard, roared as Kayla fired her NCV into its spine. Eventually the Captain collapsed, dead, and Kayla began to fire on the Goblins.

Shifter chuckled to himself and opened fire with a grey, weathered Arma Engine machine gun, lacerating the Goblins until they collapsed. With the Vex and Fallen dead all eyes turned to the cell. Slowly Kayla walked up to it and held up Ghost. Ghost looked at her, uneasy.

 **(End of the Line- Destiny OST)**

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ghost asked.

"Gotta live up to my name, haven't I?" Kayla said with a shrug.

Ghost reluctantly nodded and turned to the cell, scanning its door. While he did that everyone else ran up to a ridge at the back of the plateau. As the icy smoke cleared Kayla could see the four glowing blue eyes of Aksor. He was looking right at them. Slowly he put a clawed hand on the rim of the doorframe, stepping out slowly. His arm was thin and silver, his gauntlets finned and his headdress cybernetic and silver, with a yellow face mask. Draped from his shoulders were two gold banners, along with a gold loincloth.

' _Again with the Kings..._ ' Kayla thought to herself.

"Where...is...Skolas?" Aksor seethed, looking around. The Archon looked around, realising where he was. " _Winter?_ " he said in disbelief. "Why would...?" Aksor turned, looking through the storm and smokes from the volcano. In the distance he could see the Wintership Simiks-Fel.

"Shit!" Kayla hissed. "Draksis is nearly here!"

"Dammit!" Anora growled. "Looks like we gotta be quick with this one. No messin' around you two!"

Aksor scoffed at the ship. "Well...the Kell won't be happy about this," he growled, turning to the ridge and pointing his shrapnel launcher at it. "And I suppose you three are here to stop my escape or my capture at the hands of Draksis." He let out a deep, booming laugh. "Either way it makes no difference to me: neither of you will be keeping me here!"

 **AKSOR**

 **ARCHON PRIEST**

Aksor laughed as he fired the large shrapnel launcher at the group. The group scattered, Anora going left and Shifter and Kayla going right. Anora fired at the Archon with her Smolder but the large Fallen took the rockets in his stride. He glared at Anora, letting out a threatening roar.

"That thing just tanked the rockets!" Kayla exclaimed, firing on Aksor with her Suros pulse rifle. The bullets didn't even scratch Aksor's armour, only succeeding annoying the Fallen.

Aksor turned to Kayla, firing on her with his launcher and allowing Anora to escape up into a cave above her. Shifter stood on rocky pillar, letting Kayla distract the Archon so he could line up a Shadowshot. Aksor stood in the middle of the arena, firing on Kayla as she ran for cover. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the male Guardian aiming a bow-like weapon at him. Aksor chuckled as the Guardian fired teleporting to the caves and surprising the female Guardian there.

"Damn..." Shifter grunted, hopping down.

"How many of those can fire?" Kayla asked.

"Three," he replied. "Then the Shadowshot has to recharge."

Kayla nodded, he head perking up when she heard screaming. To her shock Anora was sent flying out of the cave, landing in a heap on the floor. Kayla immediately went to her, not wanting to lose another teammate.

"Shifter, cover me!" she ordered.

Shifter silently nodded, pulling out his 20/20 and firing rapidly into Aksor's head. The Archon growled, grabbing his head and disappearing further back into the cave.

"Anora, are you alright?" Kayla said, noticing the woman's right arm hanging limp.

"Dislocated my shoulder," Anora grunted.

"What happened?"

"Damn Archon pounded the ground. Shockwave sent me flying."

Kayla nodded. "You know what I'm going to need to do. Just stay still."

Anora nodded, taking a deep breath as Kayla took over her shoulder guard. Grabbing the arm Kayla quickly forced it back in place with a loud _crunch_. Anora seethed in pain before standing and flex her arm.

"Bada-boom!" she shouted, grinning at Kayla before backing up to Shifter as Aksor came charging down the hill that went up to the cave, firing on them with his shrapnel launcher.

"Damn Machine Thieves!" he roared. "I'm not going to be captured by that pretender! And I'm not being released just to die at your hands!"

"Are all Archons this hammy?" Kayla asked Anora, who shrugged.

Aksor continued to fire as Kayla and Shifter fired their machine guns, riddling Aksor's armour with bullets. Anora fired on Aksor with her Suros Regime but the priest teleported away, reappearing on the ridge. The three Guardians split up to avoid the shrapnel rounds.

Suddenly the sound of engines cut through the air.

"Draksis?" Anora gasped as all combatants paused.

Aksor watched with baited breath as a Skiff came over the battle ground. He knew what it had came for and he was sure that Draksis was hastily ordering the Fallen crew inside to land and recapture him. Aksor scoffed. The only one remotely strong enough to capture him would be Draksis himself. But maybe he could use this to his advantage. He turned to the crevice, only to find the more muscular female firing her own launcher at it, watching in frustration as rocks collapsed sealing the crevice off.

"You ain't going anywhere," she said, making Aksor lash out at her in rage.

While Anora dealt with the Archon Kayla and Shifter focused on the Fallen crew that had just landed. Kayla glanced at Shifter, the Exo nodding in understanding and heading up to a high vantage point. The first one to attack Kayla was the Captain leading the crew, swinging his sword down hard. Kayla dodged, Palm Striking him in the ribs causing him to stumble. The Captain roared, smacking her to the ground at the feet of the Dregs. Kayla groaned in pain, smacking an eager Dreg with the butt of her Suros. Before the Captain could order the Vandals to fire on her they were all snared by Shifter's Shadowshot.

"That's two..." Kayla grunted as she stood up, pulling out her Nihilist and firing on the Fallen, Shifter doing the same with his Arma Engine.

Unable to move the Fallen crew was quickly dispatched. Anora chuckled as she back up away from Aksor. The priest roared in anger and fired on the group, forcing them up on to the ridge. The group circled each other, the Guardians coming out at the small springs on the left side of the arena. Aksor laughed teleporting in the middle of them. Kayla quickly glided away as the Archon smashed the ground, seeing Anora hit the wall and Shifter...

"No!" Kayla shouted, watching the Hunter fly off in the direction of the cliff.

She charged up to him, catching him just before he plummeted, hanging on to a rocky pillar.

"Jeez, you're heavy!" Kayla said, straining at his weight. Shifter motioned to himself, annoyed. Kayla laughed sheepishly. "Oh, right...Exo."

Shifter's eyes widened he saw Aksor march toward Kayla. He struggled for his sniper rifle, hoping to stun Aksor enough for them to escape. Before he could grab it he heard Anora scream. The Archon turned just in time for Anora to send a flying, electrical charged kick into the alien's gut, sending him flying into the side of the prison capsule, knocking it off the cliff.

"Come on!" Anora said, helping Kayla pull Shifter up before pushing them to the ridge. "Go! Go! Go!"

"Guys I have an idea!" Kayla said.

"Care to tell, cuz I'm all ears right now, Kayla!" Anora yelled.

"Shifter, keep Aksor there with a Shadowshot," Kayla ordered. "Anora, kept up to the cave. When I Nova Bomb him you use Fist of Havoc. If we pull it off right he should..."

Anora's face lit up "Brilliant!" she said with a smile, heading up to the cave.

Aksor slowly stood, only to be ensnared by the robot's Shadowshot. "What is this?!" he growled.

"Bullseye, Kayla," he said to the thin female.

Aksor squinted, see her bounce a large ball of Void Light in her hand. "Thanks Shifter! Go long, Aksor!"

Kayla laughed as she hurled the Nova Bomb square into the Archon's chest. Aksor stumbled, coughing up blood and retching has he felt the Void eat at his flesh.

"Alright, Anora, you're up!"

Aksor's attention turned to the more muscular female. She was covered in lightning, charging up a run from the cave. In a mighty burst of speed she leaped from the cave and sent herself careening into the Archon in a ball of lightning like a furious cannonball, punching him in the face and shattering his helmet. Aksor stumbled, teetering on the edge of the cliff. Anora grabbed him and pushed himself off, kicking him off the edge.

The other two Guardians ran up to Anora, the trio peering over the edge as Aksor fell, screaming, ending up impaled on a rocky spike. Aksor looked at his body in shock as Ether leaked everywhere before going limp.

"Holy shit..." Kayla gasped. "That...that _wasn't_ what I expecting to happen..."

"Still, one less Archon to worry about," Anora shrugged.

"Never mind that, we've got trouble!" Shifter shouted, pointing his sniper rifle at the approaching Ketch.

The giant spaceship, almost a mile long, and shaped like a thick needle with two wings at the rear, a bottom dorsal fin and a cluster of engines at the back cruised up to the cliff face. It slowed and Kayla could feel the eyes of Kell Draksis upon them. The three Guardians stood, waiting with baited breath. Eventually the Ketch turned hard and bared left, turning invisible and disappearing. After a few minutes the Guardians all breathed a sigh of relief.

 **(End 'End of the Line')**

"That was close," Anora laughed. "Ohhh, never seen a Ketch up close before!"

" _That_ was terrifying," Kayla laughed. Even Shifter allowed himself a chuckle.

"Shame about Draksis," Anora said, staring at where the Ketch was before turning to walk. "Ah, well."

"What?" Kayla asked. "Just like that?"

"Draksis is a high value target," Anora said walking up to where the crevice was. "He can't run forever. Shifter, let Cayde know Aksor's gone."

Shifter nodded and got in touch with the Vanguard. In the meantime Kayla wondered when she'd run into Draksis again. She doubted he'd let something like that go unnoticed.


	18. 1-18) Key to the Garden

**A/N:** Anyone in need of a Destiny clan to do raids, Trials, Nightfalls, Prison of Elders and Exotic quests? Want a group of laid back people that don't take the game too seriously and just want a good time? Join Bravo Company 689 on the100 . io !

Also! To the guest reviewer (I am assuming you're one person)...please make an account so I can PM you, I don't to give away the plot of my story in the A/N.

Also also! Please read the A/N at the end, it's important.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ is owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only own Kayla and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 03:** The Ishtar Sink

 **Chapter 018:** Eye of the Gate Lord

 _ **Venus**_

 _ **Ishtar Sink**_

 _ **Shattered Coast, Guardian Outpost**_

The next morning Kayla awoke to the squawking sound of the batadacytls that flew over the Ishtar Sink. The Warlock poked her head out of the tent-like tarp and watched as the sun rose through the sulphur clouds. Slowly she breathed in the salty sea air.

"Ah, crap!" she said, coughing. "There's the sulphur! Jesus!"

Anora looked at Kayla as she coughed, laughing.

"Shut up!" Kayla yelled. "...Ma'am."

"Hey, I'm not your team captain," Anora laughed. "Now...about your skills." Kayla turned serious. Anora continued. "You're good. You're determined, quick thinking and a capable leader too. But..." the Titan sighed, pointing to Kayla's torn robes and picking up her cracked helmet. "You're reckless. And the minions o' the Darkness _will_ pick up on that."

"I'm not _that_ bad!" Kayla protested.

"Oh, yeah? How many Hobgoblins have you been shot by?"

"...Three," Kayla grumbled, seeing Anora's point.

Anora sighed. "Take it from a veteran of Twilight Gap that _these_ " She motioned to Kayla's torn robes. "Are rookie mistakes! You're a Guardian! You're invulnerable, that not the same as immortal!"

"I'm not dying again!" Kayla shouted, waking Shifter.

"Really?! Course you're doin' a piss poor job of it!"

Kayla was taken aback, the words stabbing her like knives. "I-I..."

"Tell me, has your Ghost ever been put in danger? _Real_ danger?"

Kayla thoughts drifted once again to Sardok. "Once. Just once."

"Then why didn't you _learn_ from it?!" Anora roared. "Do you know what the turnover of Guardians is?! You're lucky you made it this far! Now, you must have somethin' about you, you killed Riksis, Sepiks and made multiple incursions on the Hellmouth single handed, _but_ you don't think about your surroundings enough. What if, on your mission against the Vex, you get put against the best of the best of their forces, alone? We were here to cover your back, but you won't always have that luxury! You need to think like a soldier. Like it or not, that is what you are!"

Kayla sat on the wet concrete, slightly shocked. Anora spoke again, this time softer. "I'm not trying to be hard on you to be awful to you. I like you, you're a good person and a capable Guardian. But Fireteam Fenrir...there's only half of us left. I don't want someone who can do so much get killed due to a rookie mistake like not watching their six." Anora made her way to Kayla. "Ok? Promise me?"

Kayla thought hard over the words, thinking of her family, Argus and eventually to Adam. For all the Stormcallers strength and skill he was killed because he wasn't paying attention. Kayla thought back to her little brother. She couldn't save him. She lost him because she wasn't focusing and it tore her heart apart every time she remembered him.

"Alright... I'll do better," she said after a moment.

Shifter gazed at Kayla for a minute, thinking back to what he lost. She reminded the Exo so much of _him_. The same fierce determination he wore on his face until that day he disappeared into that godforsaken ruin. But he was still unsure of Kayla. Anora was well respected, but Shifter knew talent when he saw it.

"This Gate Lord yer after," Shifter said. "What do you know of it?"

Kayla looked at Ghost. The machine projected a data sheet on Gate Lords. "No physical form unless they enter our realm. Roughly 3 stories tall and protect Vex realms locked out of time. ...Time?" Ghost looked at the sheet. "That can't be right..."

"Let me see," Kayla said, leaning over. "No...no, it definitely says time."

Shifter smirked. "Come back after you beat it."

"Why?" Kayla asked, eyes narrowing. The last thing she wanted was another debt. Shifter said nothing and Kayla knew better than to press. Shifter would say when he was ready.

It wasn't until after breakfast that Jaeger arrived carrying a large parcel. Kayla was the first to greet him but his eyes soon drifted to Anora. As soon as the Titan acknowledged his presence Jaeger took to his knee, holding Anora's hand and serenading her in song much to her bewilderment.

"Something in your eyes was so inviting

"Something in your smile was so exciting

"Something in my heart told me I must have ARGH!"

Jaeger was zapped by Cheryl before he could finish. Shifter cracked a smile as the 80s reject stared at his ghost in embarrassment.

"I can't...take...you... _anywhere!_ " Cheryl shouted before floating off.

"Cheryl, wait!" Jaeger yelled chasing after her.

"That was..." Anora said, stunned. "Different."

"You get used to him," Kayla said sheepishly, kneeling by the parcel. When she opened it she found a set of black and dark blue Monolith Bleed armour. "Shifter, can you leave a moment?"

Shifter nodded and slipped out of the outpost. Kayla knew the first thing he'd be doing was keeping Jaeger out of the way while she changed. When she finished she felt the snugness as the robes clinged to her, tight but still allowing her to move fluidly. The gloves were hard yet lightweight and her boots cover a spring to her step.

"Looks good on you," Jaeger said after Shifter finally let him pass.

"Is everything that comes out of your mouth a flirt?" Kayla said with a laugh.

"Not _everything_ ," Jaeger chuckled. "Just most things."

"So," Kayla said, holstering the NCV and Nihilist on her back then picking up her Suros. "Wanna go kill a Gate Lord?"

Jaeger grinned. "How can a resist an offer of Gate Lords?"

* * *

 _ **Later...**_

The pair of Guardians sped off in the direction of the Cinders on their Sparrows. As they journeyed Ghost and Cheryl looked over the data they had on the Gate Lords, as well as the stuff taken from the Archive. The pair kept relaying information, like the functions of the Hezen Corrective and Protective, which were to deter intruders and to guard a particular project respectively. One thing that scared in particular was the Vault of Glass, where the Vex could supposedly manipulate the fabric of reality itself according to the Ishtar Collective. Thankfully there had been no instances of the Vex using these weapons outside the Vault but Kayla could finally understand why the Stranger was so worried about them.

Especially if she came from a timeline where the Vex had already won.

"We're going to need to lure a Gate Lord out before we do anything else," Cheryl said, snapping Kayla out of her thoughts.

"There's a Vex conflux active at the base of the Citadel," Ghost said. "If we can hack into it we can trick the Gate Lord into revealing itself."

Kayla and Jaeger drove down to the base of the Citadel, ignoring the Fallen that were firing on them. Eventually they came to a set of ruins crawling with Vex. Like the Citadel they were simple, oblong and metallic but were still able to look completely alien despite their evident age. Luckily for the pair of Guardians the only Vex around were Goblins, which they dispatched with relative ease. With the Vex dead Kayla slipped into an alcove where Ghost had pinpointed the conflux. It was a tall structure, almost like a live power node, and the glow illuminated the room. Kayla held Ghost out to it while Jaeger kept watch.

"And I thought you had the hard job," Ghost said, scanning the conflux. "There's a Gate Lord, Zydron, in the system here...we can lure it out at a place called the...the 'Endless Steps'."

"I know that place," Jaeger said, holstering his revolver. "It's past Campus 9. Whole place is crawling with Vex though."

"Wonderful," Kayla said as she walked out. "So how does this work?"

"The Vex have a system they use to enter our world called transfer gates," Ghost said. "Think of the other side being infinite in size and the Vex are able to access wherever they want providing there's one in the area."

"What? Like the Internet?"

"It's a little more complicated than that, but yes."

Kayla and Jaeger took off through the ruins, coming out at the cliffs. The area was still wet and waterlogged after yesterday's storm and the ruins were dripping water into murky pools on the ground. They hoped off their Sparrows at Campus 9 as the area was too overgrown to bring them through. The research station was eerily quiet and the bodies of the Fallen were still littered around the ground, a stark reminder of the battle that took place earlier that week. On the other side of the camp she could see a hill lined with Vex ruins that made the entire area look like the top of an overgrown labyrinth. Scattered around at regular intervals were large, brass structures that looked like giant clock faces.

"Through here?" Kayla asked.

"It certainly looks ominous enough," Jaeger remarked.

The pair cautiously set off only to be jumped by Ghost. "Oh!" he yelled.

"Jeez, don't _do that!_ " Kayla shouted, bonking Ghost on the top.

Ghost shook himself slightly. "I-I just remembered..."

"...What is it?" Jaeger asked, eyes narrowing.

"To lure out Zydron I...sort of had to...mess with the gate system in the entire area..."

"What?" Kayla deadpanned.

Suddenly the nearest clock-structure began to hum, the centre glowing a bright white. From the light Kayla could make out the red eyes of the Vex marching out. Kayla and Jaeger immediately aimed their primary weapons at the machines and fired, the thunderous _cracks_ of gunshots echoing through the air.

"How do we shut down the gate?" Jaeger asked his ghost as the Vex fired.

Cheryl thought for a moment. "Well, if we can send a surge of energy into it I'm sure it will trigger a power surge that will activate some sort of failsafe..."

"Cheryl! English!"

" _Just shoot it!_ "

"Of course!" Kayla shouted, focusing on the gate while Jaeger took down the Goblins. After pouring a couple of magazines into the gate it powered down. The Vex turned to the gate in confusion allowing Kayla to through a Vortex Grenade into the group. The machines collapsed as the Void corrupted them.

"Why can't it ever be simple?" Kayla sighed, setting off into the labyrinth hills.

"Cos then it wouldn't be fun!" Jaeger laughed, following her.

The pair took their time heading through the hills, pausing every so often to defeat the Vex that were coming through and shut down the gates. For now it was just Goblins and Harpies but Kayla was sure that the Vex defences would get tougher the further they progressed.

During a brief respite Kayla looked at Jaeger's cloak. On a closer look she could see the it had carefully placed stitches. Jaeger looked back, catching her.

"You want to know about the cloak?" he asked.

"What?" Kayla asked, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Er...well..."

"Don't worry, I won't hold it against you," Jaeger chuckled. "It was a cloak that belonged to a member of the Six Coyotes. He was a mentor, I'd..." he sighed before turning to Kayla with a grin. "Never mind that, look at all these ruins! Do you ever wonder how long they've been here? Or why? I sure do."

Kayla smiled sadly. The cloak was a memento. That much she could understand. And the way Jaeger had quickly avoided the subject meant that he was partially responsible for it ending up that way. But she wouldn't press. Kayla knew that Jaeger would face it when he was ready to.

The group rounded a corner, only for Kayla to drag Jaeger back. She shushed him then pointed to the large Cyclops on a rocky ledge. It was guarded by Hobgoblins. At the top of the hill was a Hydra and a final transfer gate.

"Ohhh..." Jaeger said, peeking through a crack in the wall. "That ain't good."

"The Hobgoblins, even the Cyclops, we could handle," Kayla said. "But the Hydra's going to cause problems."

"If you can distract them and let me get to the cover on the other side," Jaeger whispered, pulling out his kukri. "I can throw an Arc Blade at that Hydra. That'll leave the gate unguarded. I can shut it down, but..."

"I'll stall them until the Hydra's down," Kayla said. "Then I'll Nova Bomb 'em."

Jaeger nodded and Kayla turned, throwing a Vortex Grenade at the Hobgoblins. The Vex turned and fired, Kayla ducking to avoid the sniper fire. She quickly pulled out her Suros and began firing on the Cyclops, determined to send it into a berserk state while Jaeger quickly made for the next wall, attracting the attention of the Hydra.

Jaeger skidded in the mud, narrowly missing the Hydra's Aeon Maul. Getting the thumbs up from Kayla Jaeger slowly made his way along the wall. When he was close to the Hydra he threw a Flux Grenade at it. It stuck to the large semi-circular shield, but that was fine. Jaeger just wanted the Hydra's attention. The giant Vex turned its a attention to Jaeger, who empowered himself with lightning and jumped up, throwing the electrified kukri at the Hydra and hitting it straight in the eye. The electricity surged through the Vex, short-circuiting it and sending it crashing to the ground. In his electrified state Jaeger quickly threw several knives at the transfer gate, shutting it down before the Vex had a chance to respond.

When Kayla noticed the gate power down she rushed out, hurling an over arm Nova Bomb at the Vex, sending limbs, shrapnel and fluid everywhere as the machines exploded. When the smoke cleared Kayla ran up to Jaeger.

"I'm surprised that worked," Jaeger chuckled.

"You came up with it!" Kayla snapped in disbelief.

"Yeeeaah," Jaeger shrugged. "Doesn't mean I had faith in it."

Kayla groaned before smiling. "At least we're through."

"Aaaand we've got through the last of the gates," Ghost said, appearing next to the two Guardians.

"No thanks to you!" Jaeger frowned.

"Well I think you both did wonderfully," Cheryl said.

"Oh, yeah, you would side with him!" Jaeger grumbled.

"Jaeger!" Kayla said quickly. "Marital strife later. Come on."

Cheryl chuckled and the pair of Guardians and there ghosts came out on to a large cliff edge at the back of the Citadel. It was split into two hills, one at the entrance and one containing a large Vex gate. In the middle was a crevice that was filled with pools of water. The Citadel cast a shadow over the entire area which, coupled with the smog from the volcanoes across the sea, gave the entire place an ominous vibe.

"That gate there," Ghost said. "That's where we need to wake the Gate Lord."

The two Guardians quickly made their way over the cliff to the Vex structure at the edge. Jaeger ran up to the structure, feeling it for any mechanisms. He turned to Kayla, shaking his head. Kayla looked over the structure.

"You sure this is the place?" Kayla asked. "What does the Archive say?"

Ghost projected a screen. "Hmmm...says here Vex use sync plates to activate gateways or other structures."

Jaeger pointed at a large brass ring in the ground. "You mean this thing?"

"Yeah, that's it."

Kayla took a deep breath and stepped into the ring, Jaeger covering her. Slowly the gate hummed into life and, in the white glow Kayla could see a large power core, surrounded by a large metal chassis. Slowly two thick black curved legs, two arms and a flat Minotaur head appeared around it. Slowly the parts connected together, Zydron glaring into the Guardians.

"Is it wrong for me to think organic life and mechanical life can get along?" Ghost gulped.

 **ZYDRON**

 **GATE LORD**

Zydron was the first to attack, firing on the pair of Guardians with its oversized Torch Hammer. Jaeger dove on the ground while Kayla glided backwards to avoid the impact. Jaeger scrambled to his feet as the Gate Lord rushed towards him, punching the ground near him and send the Hunter flying into Kayla, the pair tumbling down the hill.

"Holy shit, he's fast!" Jaeger gasped, standing up and firing on the Gate Lord with his Vanity.

Kayla muttered a swear word and fired on the Gate Lord with her NCV, the lances of fusion energy scratch the surface of Zydron's metal body. Zydron looked at the faint injuries then at Kayla. The Warlock lowered her gun, gulping before running behind cover as the Gate Lord fired at her. Jaeger rushed behind a large boulder, throwing a Flux Grenade at the giant Vex Minotaur. Zydron barely noticed until the Arc based grenade until exploded, leaving a large dent in its chest.

"Hell, yeah!" Jaeger cheered, turning to Kayla with a grin. "Did ya see that?"

"You can celebrate when we've beaten it!" Kayla said, unleashing a volley of bullets from her Nihilist on to the Gate Lord.

Zydron shielded itself with its arm, the bullets pinging off its chassis. Kayla groaned in annoyance as Zydron fired on them once more, the giant globules of Void energy shaking the ground beneath them.

Jaeger and Kayla ducked under a Vex structure. "I don't think he'll come down here!" Jaeger shouted over the thunderous booms of the Torch Hammer.

"Why's that?" Kayla shouted back.

"He's a _Gate_ Lord! If we've drawn him out he probably thinks we're trying to invade the network through his gate!"

"Which means he's on defence...!" Kayla said in realisation.

Jaeger nodded and threw a cluster of Flux Grenades at Zydron. "God al-fuckin'- _mighty!_ " he swore in horror as his grenades did nothing. Frustrated he pulled out his kukri and charged the giant Minotaur. Kayla watched on as Jaeger was thrown into the wall before he even had a chance to hit Zydron. She immediately ran towards the Hunter, helping him up despite his injuries.

"That was a stupid move," Kayla said, ducking under the blasts from Zydron's Torch Hammer.

"I don't see you coming up with any ideas," Jaeger said tersely, spitting blood.

Kayla looked at Zydron. The Gate Lord's armour seemed impenetrable, but the giant Vex unit had a bright glowing core in its abdomen, something the other Minotaurs didn't have. At that moment she felt the Void coarse through her veins.

"If you can stall it I can Nova Bomb its power core," Kayla said.

Jaeger looked at her with a weary grin. "So basically," he said, standing up and dusting himself down. "I'm bait."

"Well, I wouldn't quite put it like that," Kayla said nonchalantly, staring at the Hunter with complete seriousness as another explosion rocked their cover. "Off you go then," she smirked.

Jaeger rolled his and began firing on Zydron with his Vanity. The Gate Lord whirred in response as the Hunter ran past it, the Vex stomping on the ground and making the cliff rumble with its weight.

Kayla watched as Jaeger circled around Zydron, keeping the gargantuan Vex's attention as he brought it round. When it was facing her once more Kayla took her chance, dashing to the Gate Lord and giving a tremendous leap and firing a Nova Bomb into the machine's chest. Zydron let out an ear-splitting screech as it stumbled backwards, holding its stomach as white fluid dripped from its abdomen. Before the Gate Lord had a chance to react to the defiant Warlock, Jaeger whipped out his Maria and began firing on the Vex. Kayla followed suit and eventually they toppled the Gate Lord. Jaeger chuckled and activated Arc Blade, slamming down into the mind core of the machine. Zydron seized up, letting out a deep, dying squawk before its body went limp. The pair of Guardians and their ghosts paused for a moment in anticipation.

"...Is it dead?" Ghost asked hesitantly.

Kayla looked at him then kicked Zydron's leg, a metallic clang ringing through the air. "I'd say so," Kayla said after a few seconds, turning to Jaeger. "Thank you for your help."

Jaeger took off his mask, smiling. "Anytime."

"Oh...you couldn't do just... _one_ more favour, can you?" Kayla asked, giving him her sweetest smile.

Jaeger frowned. He'd been with many women to know that _something_ normally followed. "What is it?"

"Can I borrow your knife?" Kayla asked with a sheepish grin.

* * *

 _ **The Reef**_

Mara Sov was sat lazily on her throne, surrounded by her Fallen guard. Uldren was busy mocking the mote of light that arrived two days earlier and the Queen had grown quite tired of it. As much as she loved her dear brother, he was an arrogant fool at times. The Guardian had piqued her interest. And the idea of it and, by extension, the City owing her amused her. A small smirk appeared on her face.

Suddenly the door opened and the Guardian strode in, flanked by two of the Queen's Awoken guard. Its robes were different but the cocky look on its face was plain to see.

"It has returned," Mara said when the Guardian stopped before her, looking at the ghost next to it. "And it still has its ball."

The ghost wasn't too happy about that, amusing Mara further. Kayla looked at the Queen, smirking herself. That was something that Mara had caught, her own smirk turning to an annoyed frown. Uldren turned to Kayla, noticing that she held nothing in her hands. A wide, patronizing grin filled his face.

"There is no shame in running away, Guardian," Uldren said, oozing smugness. "Apart from the cowardice and failure of it all, it is indeed an excellent strategy."

Kayla's smirk widened, making Uldren falter slightly. "Oh we didn't run," she said, revelling in her own smugness slightly. Kayla wasn't normal one to show off but Uldren and the Queen deserved it.

"You're enjoying this way too much," Ghost whispered.

"Relax," Kayla whispered out of the side of her mouth. "It's all in hand."

Uldren looked at Mara in confusion. Mara stared at him before changing her posture, leaning forward in interest. "Was no Gate Lord slain, brother?" she asked.

"Oh, we killed a Gate Lord," Kayla said, looking at Ghost expectantly. "Ghost?"

Ghost teleported between Kayla and Uldren, pausing a moment before he teleported Zydron's head into the room. It landed on the floor with a mighty _crash_ , frightening the Fallen guards and visibly horrifying Uldren. The Queen however looked at Zydron's head then at Kayla. The confident smile on her face furthered Mara's interest in her.

"Your Majesty, I've come to bargain," Kayla said, eying everyone in the room. "We need to find the Black Garden."

"They don't even know where it is..." Uldren groaned with a roll of his eyes.

"Let us tell them," Mara said, annoying Uldren further. "Search the Gate Lord for that which gains them entrance."

This was when Uldren finally lost his temper. He spun on his heel to his sister, furious. "Why?!" he snarled, practically foaming from the mouth. "If you wish them certain death, then just kill them here!"

Kayla scoffed, loud enough for Uldren to hear. The Queen eyed her, silently warning Kayla before looking at Uldren again. "Often, when we guess others motives, we reveal only our own."

Uldren backed down slightly, the annoyance still audible in his voice. "My motive is simply loyalty- to a people, a queen, and a sister." He kneeled, proving his sincerity.

"Then, please," the Queen said, holding a hand out to the head. "Take what is required."

Reluctantly, Uldren stepped down from the throne and moved to the Gate Lord's head. He drew a knife as he picked it up, plunging into the Vex's eye and ripping it out. Uldren held it in his hand, waiting. Kayla stood in place, resisting the urge to punch him. Uldren smiled as the eye's glow disappeared.

"Dead, unfortunately," he said to Mara Sov, before turning with the fakest apologetic smile he could muster. "A wasted journey I'm afraid."

"Perhaps," Mara said, noticing that Kayla was losing patience with the man. "But I think this one's resourceful. We gift it. In sympathy for their Traveller."

Uldren sighed, knowing he had been beat. "Mars," he said, scowling at Kayla. "84 north, 32 East. Meridian Bay."

"Freehold?" Kayla asked in surprise.

"If _that_ is what you call it, then yes."

Uldren forcefully threw the eye at Kayla. She caught it without batting an eye then turned to leave. As she did Mara spoken again. "I have shown you benevolence," she said. "Should the Awoken ever need an ally, I will call you. And I expect you to answer."

Kayla turned, glancing at the Queen in vague annoyance.

"She's saying you owe us," Uldren specified.

"I understand," she said to Uldren as patronisingly as she could get away with, before looking at the Queen. "Your Grace."

Kayla bowed then turned to leave. Ghost looked at the Queen before following his Guardian.

"Good luck!" Uldren shouted after her, adding under his breath. "Getting through the Exclusion Zone."

* * *

 _ **Later...**_

When Kayla arrived back at the Tower it was night time. Zavala allowed her to rest before reporting and so Kayla retreated to her bed.

"Ahhhhh, sleeeep," Kayla sighed, burying her face in her pillow. Then she turned to Ghost. "How does the Queen stand that guy anyway?"

Ghost chuckled. "I'm sure he just has his home's best interests at heart."

"That's no excuse for being rude and unpleasant," Kayla said, annoyed. "All we wanted was their help."

"Like I said, City and Reef relations have never been too great," Ghost sighed. "You never know: this could be the start of a beautiful friendship."

Kayla snorted a laugh. "Don't! The less I see of Mr Happy the better!"

"At least they held their word. We know where the Black Garden is now."

Kayla nodded. "I wonder what Freehold looks like now?"

"Do you remember?"

"Oh, only what I saw from pictures. Think of it: a giant, towering metropolis over the red sands with waterfalls and gardens nestled in the street corners, people just...living their lives I guess."

"I suppose before we go you'd like to know what's there?" Ghost asked.

"That'd be nice, yeah."

"There is a race there called the Cabal. They're a military race that have a hold on most of Mars, but their main forces are centred around..."

"Let me guess?" Kayla asked with a wry smile. "Meridian Bay?"

Ghost nodded. "The Cabal are going to be the toughest things we've fought so far: tall, hulking masses of armour that use explosive rounds as standard munitions. They've kept the Meridian Bay under an Exclusion Zone since they arrived, no one in or out. Breaking through will be a challenge, but then, cracking tough challenges is what you do."

"Nice of you to have so much faith in me," Kayla grinned. "Before the Collapse people were paid for their service. Think it'd work if we asked the Speaker for a raise?"

Ghost laughed. "I think that'd be pushing it!"

* * *

 _ **Mars**_

 _ **Meridian Bay**_

Athena looked out over the ruins of Freehold from a small entrenchment on the perimeter of the Cabal's Exclusion Zone. She had just finished deal with clearing out the Sand Eaters from their hole but she knew they'd be back in time. While the Cabal didn't seem to have any sort of connection with the Darkness, in fact they seemed to be rather bewildered by the whole conflict in the Sol System, they had enough reinforcements to stay a permanent threat. Mars was the only planet the Fallen didn't inhabit for a reason: the Cabal killed any who stayed. The only thing that shared the red dunes with them were those cursed machines, the Vex.

Athena removed her Titan's helmet, her brunette bobbed haircut falling around her ears, and shielded her midnight blue eyes from the rising sun, heaving a heavy sigh. The Vanguard had ordered her to track Valus Ta'aurc, the leader of the Cabal in Meridian Bay and most of the contingent on Mars in some form or other, with exception of the Blind Legion and the rumoured Skyburners on Phobos. A task like this was only left to experience, hardy Guardians and while Athena relished the thought smashing in the skull of one of the Cabal's most feared champions she was annoyed at the time it was taking to find him. Ta'aurc was a brute, but also clever and the only way she could track him was by translating the radio transmissions of his bodyguards via her ghost, Owl. She had narrowed it down to the giant mobile fortress in the Valley of Kings.

"Wait..." Owl murmured as Athena attempted to get down. "Something's happening...Something's...wrong. Get to cover."

The Titan crouched into cover behind some rusted red slabs, watching through the cracks. Harvesters, the giant dropships that held about troop of ten Cabal each, sweeped overhead, cautious, prowling, their searchlights barely visible in the blue sunrise. An intercepted transmission from the Cabal command echoed in her comms unit. It was a voice she recognized all too well.

"Stand by to fire," said the deep bass of Ta'aurc's voice. "They are coming. Stand by to fire."

Athena quickly scaled a tall rocky obelisk to get a better look. As she watched the sun peek over the cliffs on the horizon she wondered if what the Future War Cult said was true. She could no longer count the amount of times she looked up to the stars and wondering when the City's time would come. But those were thoughts for later.

The valley below her filled with electrical fog signalling the incoming swarm of Vex. The machines were the ones to fire first, the sunlight reflecting off their indigo hulls. A flurry of laser fire flew over the Cabal base as they came marching out, eight feet tall hulks in bronze and green armour firing miniature rocket launchers at the machines. As gunfire swept the sky Athena could feel the electromagnetic howl of Cabal munitions tracking their targets and the even stranger whispers of warped reality every time the Vex appeared. A Harvester came crashing down at her the base of Athena's watchpoint, the Titan quickly disposing of any survivors with a rocket launcher.

"Meridian Bay! Meridian Bay!" came the cry of a young Cabal Bracus. "Firebase Telesa, perimeter compromised! Request terminal protective fire, zero-six-zero-one-three-eight, immediate effect!"

Then came the sonic booms. Athena's head snapped upwards as several bright lights came down from orbit.

"Owl...Owl, tell me I ain't seeing things," Athena whispered, awestruck.

"I believe the Cabal have caught the attention of someone...no...some _thing_ on Earth," Owl said quietly.

Athena was confused. How could something from Earth know about the Cabal? Then she remembered. Word from Earth said some greenhorn Warlock had opened up the Array in the Russian Cosmodrome. Could it be that whatever was activated there could be watching here?

The lights came close, silent flying over the oblivious Cabal and Vex. Athena squinted against the sun, eyes widening in horror as she recognized the shape from an old book about a global pre-Golden Age conflict: an old ballistic missile.

"Owl, get out of here," Athena ordered, jumping down and breaking into a run.

"But, Miss Athena..."

"Owl, I can't survive this if you die too, no _go!_ "

Owl looked at the incoming missiles before flying away as fast as she could. Athena watched her ghost until she was safely over the horizon as the sickening _boom_ deafened all around her.

 _ **Later...**_

Athena took in a deep breath. Owl was busy healing her burns but the Titan didn't care. She looked out at the devastation around the Cabal exclusion zone, the twisted bodies of Vex Minotaurs and the crumpled corpses of Cabal Legionnaires. The giant Cabal structures that dominated the landscape had been reduced to dust in a matter of seconds. Only one area was left; Freehold and its surrounding Cabal encampment. The tips of the towers glistened in the sun, completely untouched.

A ghost of the Cosmodrome had been set loose and Athena had wondered who won this conflict. The Vex, that were no doubt predict its next move? The Cabal, who had just discovered a new piece of technology through their destruction? Or the Warmind, testing its reborn strength?

Static played through the comms, followed by Ta'aurc's furious roar: "Find the source! Rouse the Flayers and _FIND THE SOURCE!_ "

If someone were to kill Ta'aurc and his Flayers, like they had done Aksor, whose purpose would it serve? Athena looked down her at her broken armour, annoyed. This was a question best left to the Warlocks.

"Owl, open up a transmission to Zavala," Athena ordered.

"What should I say?" Owl asked.

"Tell 'em the Cabal exclusion zone has been blasted wide open."

* * *

 **A/N:** Ok, so long story short. Nearly all of what I wrote so far I wrote on sick leave from work. I have various issues centred around depression, anxiety and dysphoria and writing this was a way of healing. Because I was off work for six weeks I could plough through as much as possible.

Sadly real life takes over and, now that I'm 'better' (in the sense that I'm not breaking down over large crowds, paranoia or my lack of a ******) I have had to return to work. Because of this my writing is usually restricted to my lunch breaks now so updates are going to be far slower than they have been. I was kind of hoping to get Sekrion out of the way but...*shrugs*

Updates are still coming, I must stress, but first I have to write it on paper then copy it up on here which is far more arduous task than it sounds.

Anyway, next chapter: Kayla heads deep into the Ishtar Academy to defeat Sekrion, the Nexus Mind. And we discover Shifter's link to the Stranger in **Chapter 1-19: The World Eating Machine.**


	19. 1-19) The World Eating Machine

**A/N:** So I now have a vague idea of the opening sequence to Destiny 2. Expect a more in depth version in Become Legend Volume 2, I've got like...4 teams to cover in that invasion. Should be fun.

Also, apologies for it taking a month. Work, Xbox binges and real life in general makes it difficult to write.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ is owned by Bungie, Activision. High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only own Kayla and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 03:** The Ishtar Sink

 **Chapter 019:** The World Eating Machine

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **City**_

 _ **Tower**_

Kayla woke up early the next morning. After grabbing food from one of the Tower's many cafés she headed to the Vanguard. The ever cheerful Cayde was eager to hear of her adventure to Venus, however Ikora was less than pleased about Kayla's absence. After the scolding and Zavala's arrival Kayla relayed the message of the Stranger, the Vex and their discoveries in the the Archive.

"...And then she gave us Zydron's eye," Kayla finished. "Uldren made a point to break it though."

"Bastard," Ikora growled, echoing Kayla's thoughts. "We should never have trusted the Reef!"

"Well, come on, look at it this way," Cayde said. "On the one hand the Reef didn't keep their word. Buuuut...the Queen implied could be fixed. And I only know one Warlock that can find that out."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Cayde," Ikora said. "But I'll get the Hidden on it. To think though...Kabr's Stranger exists..."

"Yeah, but Kabr was also up to his eyeballs in Vex parts," Cayde retorted.

" _However_ ," Ikora said loudly. "Kayla heard the Stranger on the Moon. There are no Vex on the Moon."

"Excuse me," Kayla said nervously, noting the unfamiliar name. "Who's Kabr?"

Zavala was the one to answer, his voice solemn. "Kabr was a Titan, and a talented Guardian. But he discovered the Vault of Glass and became obsessed with it as well as the Vex it created. He went into the Vault, alone. We discovered his journal several months later. It's are...disturbing to say the least. Kabr was never seen again."

The mention of the Vault of Glass worried Kayla. But that was for another time.

"Where is the entrance to the Black Garden located then?" Cayde asked.

"Meridian Bay," Ikora replied. "Right in the heart of Valus Tua'arc's exclusion zone."

"That's promising," Cayde remarked dryly.

"Leave that with Ikora," Zavala said. "I don't want you stepping on Mars without knowing how to fix that eye."

"So what do I do in the meantime?" Kayla asked.

"Anora and Shifter are preparing for a strike against an important node in the Vex network," Ikora said. "Since you worked so well with them against Aksor I figured you'd be more than capable."

* * *

Kayla landed on Venus once more and headed directly to Ishtar Academy. The constant rain had stopped briefly, giving the sun the chance to shine through the sulphurous smog produced by the region's ever active volcanoes, casting the area in a hazy glow. She found Anora and Shifter waiting for by the angel statue.

"Good to see you again, Kayla," Anora greeted with a hug. "Hows the Black Garden mission going?"

"We're getting there," Kayla replied. "We've narrowed it down to Mars."

Anora made a face. "Ah, jeez...be careful. The Cabal don't take prisoners."

Kayla nodded before turning to Shifter. "Yo," she said. Shifter raised his hand in acknowledgement. Kayla smiled in return. "So what's the target?" she asked.

"A Nexus Mind," Anora replied gravely. "Sekrion."

"And a Nexus Mind does...what?"

"Cutting the bullshit?" Anora asked back. "You know Mercury? How it's a machine now?" Kayla nodded. "Well a Nexus Mind did that."

Kayla was taken aback. "...Oh, my God," was all she could say.

"Exactly."

"We've located it in a digsite at the N/Gen Branch deeper in the Academy," Shifter explained. "Seems like the Whitecoats discovered it during the Golden Age. S'probably what caused the Vex to swarm Venus in the first place."

"And here I was hoping for an easy job," Kayla lamented.

Anora grinned. "It wouldn't be fun then, would it?"

The trio set off through the abandoned university coming out at Ishtar Commons. The plaza was devoid of life. With the Archive gone there was nothing for the Fallen to loot and with the Fallen gone there was for the Vex to stop. The eerie quietness that filled the space instead unnerved Kayla. Instead of heading straight ahead the group went left into a large blocky building off to the side. Despite the collapsed, overgrown and waterlogged appearance of the building Kayla recognized it as the N/Gen Branch.

N/Gen, or Neo Genetics, was a Golden Age company under the Ishtar Collective's umbrella. Like much of the companies at the Ishtar Sink N/Gen was a science company filled with the brightest biologists and geneticists the human race had to offer. Everything from cloning to DNA splicing was performed at their headquarters in the Ishtar Academy. The company was eventually found guilty of 'less than ethical practices', though the Ishtar Collective always denied its involvement. The Collective promptly dropped the company and expanded their xenoarchaeology branch into N/Gen's former building due to the discovery of an alien structure underneath it. Kayla had always wondered what it was they had found. Now she had a feeling she didn't want to know.

The group cautiously walked through the corridors of the N/Gen building, Anora taking point with Shifter guarding their six. Sebastian was moving ahead, scanning the area for any sign of enemy activity.

"I'm picking up multiple High Servitors," the soft-spoken ghost said, stopping as they came to a flooded plaza. "What would the Fallen be doing here?"

"Guess what Sebby," Anora said, pointing to an alien looking TV screen. "You can ask Draksis yourself."

The three Guardians looked at the screen, seeing a large Fallen scowling at them. He was unmasked, giving the Guardians a clear view his face. His head was covered in a plated exo-skeleton, dark brown in colour. His four eyes, small and icy, were set back into his head giving him a very prominent brow. His lower jaw consisted of four large mandibles filled with pointed teeth and his head had a small Mohawk of grey-blonde hair. Overall he looked like a giant, hairy cockroach.

"I've never seen one unmasked," Shifter said.

"You...you were three that killed Aksor," the Fallen said, inspecting them. His eyes narrowed on Kayla. "And _you_ were the one that killed Grayliks." Suddenly the Fallen burst out into joyous laughter. "Thank you! Saves me the job of throwing him out of the Ketch! Treacherous little worm he was..."

Kayla blinked. "Er...who the hell are you?"

"Highest bounty of the City and you don't even recognize me, what are they teaching you these days?" the Fallen chuckled. "I am Draksis, Kell of Winter."

The fireteam stood in shock. Draksis' reputation was well known throughout the City and to see him so affable left them in stunned silence. Draksis put a gasmask to his face, breathing in Ether air, before speaking to the team again.

"Now then," he said. "What are you doing at my dig site?"

" _Your_ dig site?" Kayla asked.

"Yes, _my_ dig site," Draksis sassily. "Winter did half the work at the Archive, we get half the prize. I mean, I'm totally going to kill you for the data you stole, but until that day comes consider us the best of frenemies."

Kayla looked at Anora and Shifter awkwardly then turned back to the screen. "There's a Vex down there that will turn Venus into a machine if we don't stop it."

Draksis blinked. "...Really?" the Kell asked, thinking for a moment. "Alright, go for it."

"What?" Kayla asked, stunned.

"Go on. Shoo!" Draksis said. "How can I take over Venus and destroy the City if there _IS NO VENUS?!_ Our interests are aligned."

"Er...thanks...I guess?" Kayla said slowly.

"Oh, but don't expect the House of Winter to let you go there quietly," Draksis laughed. "But still, they're idiots so...don't feel bad about killing them. I never do."

Draksis cut the connection, leaving the Fireteam slightly bewildered by the whole thing. The trio stood in silence before Anora readied her Regime. "So...High Servitors," she said.

"They're keeping the doors locked," Sebby said. "We can't move on until they're gone."

"Of course we can't," Shifter muttered.

The trio split up, each focusing on one Servitor. Anora headed to the one in the centre of the makeshift of the plaza, gunning down the Fallen with her Regime before they had a chance to react. Anora laughed, dodging the mortar from the High Servitor and jumping onto the machine. Grabbing the rim of its eye she punched it repeatedly with lightning cloaked fists. In a few seconds the Servitor exploded, leaving Anora to focus on the House of Winter's reinforcements.

Shifter headed to the top of the far building's stairwell, following Kayla. "Watch my back," he said, drawing his Shadowshot.

Kayla nodded and began taking out the Dregs and Vandals that rushed them. A cocky Dreg tried to stab her with its dagger but Kayla smacked it back with the butt of her scout rifle, giving him a baffled.

"I've mowed down small armies of you guys and you _still_ try the knife?" Kayla asked, slightly bemused. Still she wasted no time in pulling out her NCV and blasting the Fallen back with lances of electricity. As she worked her way up she spotted one of the High Servitors looming above her.

Meanwhile Shifter had spotted the last Servitor cowering in the corner. Shifter smirked as he pulled the arrow back. If he had a tongue he'd be tasting the air in anticipation. In a swift motion he let the arrow go. It turned into a well of Void Light as it made contact with the Servitor, smacking in its eye as tendrils of Void Light whipped out, wrapping around and ensnaring the Dregs and Vandals like vines. With a strong over arm throw Shifter launched a poisonous smoke bomb at the Fallen. While Shifter knew it wouldn't harm the High Servitor it did the stop the adds fighting back. As the poison choked the Dregs and Vandals the Hunter switched to his 20/20 and launched a quick volley of rounds into the Servitor's eye. The Servitor whirred weakly the violently exploded.

"Second Servitor is down," Shifter said gruffly.

The Warlock was busy trying to avoid the mortars that the machine launched. Taking cover in an abandoned office Kayla allowed the High Servitor to destroy the window with another Void mortar. Taking her chance Kayla shot up, throwing a Vortex Grenade and then fired on the High Servitor with her Nihilist. The Servitor shook as the bullets pierced its armoured shell. It angrily whirred, swinging around the office door and cornering Kayla.

"Geez...how much can you take?" she muttered.

As the Servitor closed in Kayla spotted an exposed cluster of cables, volts of electricity dancing between them. Kayla held out her palm, summoning Ghost into the direction of the cables. Ghost didn't need to ask what she needed to do and flew to the nearby power grid. Kayla screamed and rushed the High Servitor. The machine was stunned by the sudden outburst, unable to do anything as Kayla pushed it back all her might, sending it flying backwards into the cables. Ghost chuckled and overloaded the power grid, sending thousands of volts through the cables. Kayla shielded her eyes as the Servitor was engulfed in a bright surge of electricity, exploding in the process. All that remained was a blackened shell.

"Third Servitor's down," Kayla said, stepping out of the building. "As is most of Ishtar's remaining electricity, I imagine."

"It looks like whatever the Servitors were keeping locked isn't anymore," Ghost said. "The bad news is all the Vex that they were keeping at bay are now between us and the Nexus."

"Eh, we can take 'em easy," Anora said as she came to the top of the staircase. Shifter remained quiet but nodded.

The trio pushed on, ending up in the main lab complex of N/Gen although it had evidently been 'acquired' by the Ishtar Collective. The corridors were lit only by the flickering emergency lighting and further in the gloom Kayla could hear the recognizable squawks of the Vex.

"Shifter?" Kayla said after a moment of silence. He grunted in response. Kayla continued. "What do you know about the Stranger?"

Shifter glanced at her but said nothing. Kayla frowned. "Shifter!" she said tersely.

Shifter continued on in silence but eventually, if reluctantly, he spoke. "Have you heard of Kabr the Legionless?"

"Only recently. And only once."

"Kabr was a friend of mine. Good guy. Dependable. Could hold his beer." Shifter sighed a little. "He became obsessed with these machines. Said the same thing you did, that were planning to rewrite reality...that some lady Exo had warned about a creature called Atheon at the heart of the Vex conflux that needed to be destroyed."

"Atheon?" Kayla asked.

"It means 'That which does not believe in time'," Anora said. "If my Vex is any good."

Shifter nodded and continued. "Kabr went down into the Vault of Glass to find it..." the normally stoic Hunter's face fell slightly, saddened. "I didn't hear anything from him for months and then...I found his journal at the foot of the Vault's entrance." If Exo's could swallow Shifter did so, hard. "I saw her there...the Stranger. She...looked at me...as if begging me for forgiveness. Then she disappeared."

"Timey-wimey?" Kayla asked with a raised eyebrow, Shifter scoffing at the phrase but nodding nonetheless.

"Did you read Kabr's journal?" Anora asked.

"No." Shifter snapped very quickly. Anora left it at that.

After a while the trio came across a swarm of Goblins in one of the main control rooms. A brief firefight broke out but the fireteam easily overpowered the Vex.

"The coordinates for the dig site point underneath us," Boadicea said, heading to a staircase. "Expect heavy resistance."

The trio reloaded and headed downstairs. While the lower floor was almost the same corporate corridors they'd been through previously it soon opened up into a mossy cavern that was made up of familiar, blocky, geometric shapes of Vex structure. Before them was a large doorway blocked by a Vex barrier not too dissimilar to a Hydra's shield. Sebby flew over to it.

"Hmm...Interesting," he said. "It's almost as if the Vex have brought part of an alternate version of this cavern through. One where the Ishtar Collective never broke through here."

"What do you mean?" Anora asked.

"It will be easier to show you," the ghost replied, scanning the barrier. Eventually a wall faded into existence, the barrier still around into in a grid like pattern.

"There was a wall there?" Shifter asked sceptically.

"Yes...and no," Sebby replied. "This wall exists in another time. The Vex must have brought it through to stop us! That's brilliant, inspired even!"

"The Vex can do that?" Kayla asked, concerned.

"Oh, yes. In fact, if you read Kabr's journal..." Sebby started before being shot down by Shifter's glare. "...The barrier is generated by a sync plate, that one there." The ghost motioned to a large bronze pad in the middle of the room. "The Vex will defend it if we try and turn the barrier off."

"Alright you two, get ready!" Anora said with a devilish grin as she stepped on the pad.

Kayla and Shifter readied their weapons as the Vex appeared before them, swarming around them in an attempt to protect the barrier. Kayla took to dealing with the Goblins that converged on them with a slow march, taking care to avoid the rounds from their Slap Rifles. Shifter on the other hand was busy dealing with a Minotaurs, firing on one with his Palindrome but unable to see another come up on him. Kayla noticed, kicking a Goblin hard in the shin and letting it be destroyed by Anora's Regime before running over to Shifter.

"Shifter! Knife!" Kayla said, ignoring the Minotaur in front of her.

Shifter looked at her, confusion washing over him for a split second, before throwing a sheathed knife at her. Kayla caught it and jumped, gliding furiously to the Minotaur behind Shifter, grabbing on to its shoulder before swinging round and stabbing it with Shifter's knife. Shifter heard the groan of the injured Minotaur behind him. He quickly threw a Voidwall Grenade at the Vex in front of him and, with one swift motion, Shifter fired his 20/20 at the Minotaur Kayla was straddling, the bullet piercing its abdomen, then did the same to with the one stunned by his grenade. Both Minotaurs collapsed, dead.

"Thanks," Shifter nodded gruffly.

"No problem," Kayla said, before firing at some nearby Goblins with her PRI-44.

"You ain't gonna stop us, ya bastards!" Anora laughed with glee, her accent unusually thick, as she took down a squad of Goblins with her Party Crasher.

Kayla watched on with slight bewilderment before turning to Shifter. "She's enjoying this way too much."

"Titans," Shifter said with a small shrug. "What do you expect?"

"Kayla, hold my shotgun!" Anora shouted, throwing the Party Crasher her before she had a chance to react.

Anora grinned as a trio of Minotaurs spawned in a veil of electrical fog. With her fist changed with sparks of lightning Anora rushed the nearest Minotaur and, with an almighty roar, punched through the Minotaur's gut. The Minotaur's visor brightened in alarm, a shocked squawk coming from the machine. Anora's fist exploded out of its spine, a pulse of lightning surging out and blasting the second Minotaur into a wall, the Vex unit exploding on impact. Before the third one had a chance to react Anora pulled her fist out of the dead Minotaur, grabbed its leg and threw it at the one that was left. Both erupted in a violent explosion. Anora panted, exhausted, before turning to a stunned Shifter and Kayla, both of whom were stood on the pad.

"You havin' fun?" Shifter said with a wry smirk.

Anora looked at the dead Vex around her before turning to the others, a sheepish smile plastered on her face. "So, I, er..got a little bit carried away."

"I think that's a bit more than 'a little'," Kayla chuckled.

"That's a matter of opinion," Anora said, folding her arms in annoyance.

"Anora, you went full Dublin," Kayla deadpanned. Anora grumbled slightly, Kayla turning to Shifter. "And she calls _me_ kamikaze!"

"Oh, shush!" Anora laughed, watching as the barrier fell. The trio stared at the dark cavern ahead of them. "Well...here we go."

Shifter reloaded his sniper while Kayla readied her scout rifle. Slowly and cautiously they headed through the cavern. Around them were bright lilac crystals that illuminated the damp, mossy path. The sound of water echoed through the cave with every step and, in the gloom, Kayla could make out the shapes and shadows of old JCB excavators that had long since been abandoned. Around them were skeletons still it torn, rotten miner clothes and the odd dead Vex, but Kayla could only assume that the Vex had died under other circumstances. Miners wouldn't have had the ability to defend themselves. The cavern of crystals soon gave way to Vex architecture and occasionally ripples of electricity ran across the walls, unnerving the Warlock a little.

"Sooo...I've got good news and bad news," Ghost said.

"Shoot," Kayla said.

"The good news is the Nexus is close."

"And the bad news?" Shifter asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The process has already started."

"Shit!" Kayla muttered.

"Alright, guys, double time it!" Anora ordered, breaking out into a run.

The trio dashed through the rest of the cavern, ignoring most of the Vex as they headed towards the Nexus. The dark pathway gave out to a large ringed shaped room. Surround it were various Vex structures that Kayla didn't even want to try and figure out. Above them was a multi layered ball of brass. Kayla could see the head of a Vex floating in the centre from which a single beam of light plunged into the planet's core.

"That's the Nexus then?" Kayla asked.

"Yeah," Shifter replied. "At the Vex inside it will probably be Sekrion."

"I don't even want to know how it all works," Anora murmured.

 **(Eye of the Gate Lord- Destiny OST)**

Suddenly Sekrion's head swung round to them. It glared at them a moment, judging them in silence. Then a tail end of a Hydra came out from under the ring, followed by more segmented pieces of a Hydra before, finally, Sekrion's head came out with two Aeon Mauls attached. The Nexus Mind was like any other Hydra, except it was silver and gold in colour and was at least five times the size of a regular one.

"It's preparing to defend itself!" Anora shouted, pulling out her Smolder.

"Gee, ya think?!" Kayla said, switching to her NCV. "Gotta pick up a new weapon," she muttered.

"It'll be slow, but hit hard," Shifter warned, aiming his 20/20 at Sekrion's head. "Be careful!"

 **SEKRION**

 **NEXUS MIND**

Sekrion launched a volley of plasma at them with its Aeon Mauls, whirring and squawking aggressively at the Guardians. The trio split up, Kayla heading backwards while firing with her PRI-44, tutting in annoyance as the bullets pinged off its shell. While Kayla distracted the Nexus Mind Anora made her way up one of the pillars in the room. Once she had clambered on to the top she went down on one knee, aiming her Smolder at the Vex's head. Once the Hydra's shield opened she fired a volley of rockets into the machine's face. Sekrion whirred in anger, turning to face Anora. She jumped when it fired its Aeon Maul, the mortar shaving the top of the pillar clean off.

With the girls keeping Sekrion's attention Shifter snuck into an alcove, keeping to the shadows and firing his 20/20 at Sekrion's back. The rounds barely scratched the Nexus Mind's armour. Annoyed, Shifter fired off more rounds in an attempt to damage one of its Aeon Mauls. Sekrion whipped round with frightening speed and bombarded Shifter with plasma.

"Dammit!" Kayla shouted as she watched on. "Anora, cover me!"

"Right!" Anora said, firing relentlessly on Sekrion with her Regime. "Come on, ya big ugly fuck!"

Kayla dashed over to Shifter, heading through a small tunnel to avoid any rogue mortars. She stumbled through the dark Vex blocks, finding Shifter crumpled in a heap. He was being revived by Sebby.

"Will he be alright?!" Kayla asked frantically, coming to his side.

Shifter took in a big gasp of air in response. Kayla quickly helped her up, hobbling him back to Anora.

"You good?" Kayla asked as Shifter pushed himself off her.

"I'm good," Shifter replied gruffly, pulling out his Arma Engine and firing on Sekrion.

"You're making a habit o' this," Anora chuckled.

"Heh."

Sekrion focused its mortars again, the three Guardians dodging to the right and powering to a raised platform behind it. Frustrated Kayla threw a Nova Bomb at the Nexus Mind. The ball of unstable Void energy detonated when it made contact, tearing a big blackened hole just under its right-hand Aeon Maul. Sekrion jerked backwards in shock as it hit, radiolarian fluid leaking from its sparking wound.

"Hell, yeah!" Kayla cheered.

Sekrion glared at her before emitting a piercing screech that reverberated off the cavern walls. The Guardians in horror as the eerie, familiar fog surrounded them, multiple blinking red lights emerging on the left and right. Kayla's face faltered slightly. "Oh, come on!"

"Not good, Kayla, but you've given me an idea!" Anora said electricity dancing across her fist. "Shifter, Shadowshots _now!_ "

The Nightstalker complied, firing two Shadowshots at the swarm of Vex surrounding them. Anora quickly threw her Smolder to Kayla before rushing up to the left swarm, leaping into the fray with a powerful Fist of Havoc causing the Vex to explode as the rush of electricity surged through them.

Kayla chuckled and fired into the right swarm with the Smolder. Her ears weren't prepared for the loud _boom_ from the barrel and, although the rocket was on target, Kayla stumbled as her ears rang with a deafening high pitch noise. From the corner of her eye she saw Shifter drawing Sekrion's fire with his Palindrome. Kayla motioned a thank you to him, shaking the ringing noise from her ears. Anora quickly joined them, looking up at the large Vex structure hanging from the ceiling.

"So, Kayla...I got a plan," Anora said quickly. "But ya prob'ly won't like it."

Kayla's face faltered as an Aeon Maul narrowly missed her. She looked hesitantly at Anora. "Why won't I like it?" she asked, ignoring another Aeon Maul.

"Because I need to go to get you up there," Anora said, pointing at the large structure on the ceiling while firing with her Regime. "Once you're there jump onto Sekrion and throw a Nova Bomb in the hole you made. It should blow up from the inside. Just pray it doesn't teleport with you attached to it."

Kayla fired on Sekrion with her PRI-45, looking up at the ceiling. "Well, I _guess_ I could glide up there..." she said.

"No time," Anora said, lifting her up roughly and throwing her like a cannonball at the structure on the ceiling. Kayla landed face first into the structure, stone and dust being kicked up.

" _THAT..._ was the most Titan thing I've seen you do," Shifter remarked dryly.

"Do you think she's ok?" Anora asked, squinting at the ceiling.

" _I'M SO GETTING YOU BACK FOR THAT!_ " Kayla shouted.

"She's fine," Shifter replied.

Kayla balanced herself on the top of one of the rings that made up the Nexus. "Bloody Titans..." she muttered.

"Ok, Kayla," Ghost said. "You only get one shot at this...unless you want to be thrown face first into a Vex death machine again?"

"Don't even go there," Kayla grumbled, watching as Sekrion glided below her. For the most part Anora's plan was working as the Nexus Mind barely noticed Kayla had disappeared.

Kayla jumped down, using her glide to land on Sekrion's head as softly as possible. Balancing on the giant Vex Hydra she slowly clambered her way down its right side, clinging to the bottom of the hole she made. She took a deep breath and threw a Nova Bomb into the hole. Sekrion rocked and screeched as several explosions shook inside the Nexus Mind, chunks of metal and radiolarian fluid flying everywhere. Sekrion teleported rapidly before returning to the centre, Kayla dropping down and landing hard on the ground as Sekrion exploded into pieces.

 **(End 'Eye of the Gate Lord')**

"Kayla!" Anora shouted as she and Shifter ran up to her. "Kayla, are you alright?"

"I've seen things...when it teleported..." Kayla said shakily. "All these squares make a circle..."

"What are talking about?"

Kayla blinked. "Huh? What? Is it dead?" Kayla looked around, seeing Sekrion's head lying beside her. "...Cool."

"I don't ever want to go there again..." Ghost said, just as shaken up.

Kayla stood up, petting Ghost before turning to Anora. "Right...we should go," she said, her voice grave. "I don't think the Vex will take too kindly to us destroying Sekrion."

* * *

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **City**_

 _ **Tower**_

The trio celebrated their victory at a bar in the City's Downtown district. While Guardians were well known and respected throughout the City, Downtown normally stayed out of Guardian affairs which made it the perfect place to have a quiet drink after a mission. Anora soon had to leave due to a mission with her own fireteam leaving Shifter and Kayla to discuss the Vex. This naturally led onto talks about the Stranger and Kabr.

"Do you know why the Stranger talked to Kabr?" Kayla asked.

"You're the one that figured out she can time travel," Shifter retorted gruffly. "You tell me."

Kayla swilled the coke in her glass around, sighing. "And now she's picked me. I wonder why."

Shifter thought a moment. "Well, they always say the one you can trust the most is yourself."

"I think the Stranger is an alternate version of me?" Kayla asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No," Shifter said, standing up. "But an alternate version of you might be connected to all this."

"You're leaving?"

"Yeah. Don't really want to be in Downtown too long if I'm honest."

Kayla chuckled. "Can't argue with that."

"By the way," Shifter said as he turned to leave. "If you need me, let me know."

"You mean it?"

"You're capable, quick and you'd make a good leader," Shifter explained. "And I don't say that about many people."

"Haha, I appreciate it!"

* * *

 _ **Somewhere in a near future...**_

It had been several days since she returned from her trip to 2716 and the Stranger could only worry about the conversation she had had with Kayla. As she walked down the dark, metal corridors of the last frigate in exist the Stranger noted that despite being able to time travel she never had enough of it. It always seemed to run out on her. The irony of it frustrated her to no end.

The frigate was quieter than usual; around a third of the refugees had been killed in the Vex's latest attack. The Stranger could only sigh as what was left of the Vanguard tended to the wounded. There was that many nowadays that they spilled out into the corridors of the ship. She looked sadly out of a nearby window at the distant Earth. The greens and blues had been replaced by brown and cold metallic grey, a sign of the Vex's never ending conquest for the Pattern.

"Iris," came the voice of a young woman.

The Stranger turned to see a Warlock stood behind her. She was Japanese with dark brown eyes, a bobbed cut of black hair that fell slightly above her shoulders, a single streak of red accenting the right side of her fringe. Around her left eye were small, black pyramid-like growths: the sign of an infection the Warlock had picked up from a battle against cyborg versions of the Fallen long ago.

"Hello, Mio," she said.

"No one's seen you for days," Mio said, worried. "You didn't even get in touch with the Commander."

"I'm sure the Commander knows that I'll come to her when I'm ready," Iris replied, waving away the comment.

"She worries. _I_ worry," Mio stressed, walking up to the Exo. "You've been holing yourself up in your room more and more lately."

"Well can you blame me?!" Iris snapped, Mio slightly taken aback by the outburst. Iris sighed. "Sorry. This is just..."

"I know," Mio said comfortingly. "I know."

Iris groaned. "Fuck it, let me see the Commander."

Mio nodded and escorted Iris down the ship to the makeshift command bay. The command bay was a poor mimic of the Hall of Guardians. Most of the members were just regular people, there were so few Guardians left now. Staring out of the window of the bridge was the Vanguard's current, and most likely, last Commander.

"I'm here," Iris said.

The Commander smiled and turned to greet her, her milky white eyes glinting in the light. "I trust you were successful?"

"Eventually. You are surprisingly difficult to convince, Commander Kayla."

Kayla gave a small, sad smile. "Were it only I could go back to being a stubborn young woman again. Mio?"

"Hai, Shirei-kan?" Mio said with a salute.

"Can you take everyone to the mess hall. I want to talk with Iris alone for a moment."

Mio's salute faltered. Though Kayla was blind Mio could see the fierce determination in her eyes. "O-of course, Commander," Mio said eventually. "Alright everyone, you heard her!"

The crew complied with Kayla's orders and filed out until it was only her, Iris and Mio left. The trio stood in silence for a moment before Kayla spoke.

"Mio...I trust that you're ready for what's about to happen?" she asked.

"I am," Mio said. "Hey, Kayla...you remember SIVA? I never thanked you...you know...for stopping me and Typhoon when..."

"Mio, with all due respect..." Kayla said, turning away. "I'd rather not go down memory lane right now. I hate repeats."

Iris looked at the pair, confused. "What's going on?"

Mio ignored her. "Kōundeare tomoyo. Soshite kami wa anata o sukuimasu."

"Thank you," Kayla said as Mio left. "Iris...could you help me to my chair?"

Iris complied and helped Kayla to the head chair. The Warlock uneasily sat down, the Exo Hunter sitting next to her. "Iris, tell me...what do you know of multiverse theory?"

"I-I beg your pardon?" Iris asked.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Iris," Kayla sighed. "When I...when _she_ destroys the Black Heart and Atheon...nothing will change here. A brand new universe will be created. One where the Vex never infected the Solar System."

"W-What are you saying?" Iris asked, a well of confusion and anger boiling inside her. She stood, slamming her fist on the table. "You said it would fix this! You said I wouldn't have to fear the Vex again!"

"And _you_ won't!" Kayla shouted. Iris quietly sat back down and the pair sat in silence for a while. Kayla continued. "Your time travelling and universe hopping has made you an anomaly in the cosmic scheme of things. You are part of the events of two universes now; you can theoretically stay in both. Sadly...we cannot."

"Commander, I...I don't understand..."

Kayla sighed. "Atheon is coming. He is focusing the Oracles on Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars and Nessus on us. We are going to have never existed at all."

"What...?" Iris gasped. "No! I can save you, that's my duty!"

"Iris."

"You always said my job was to ensure that she destroys the Black Heart and Atheon!"

"Iris!"

"She's so close to finding the Black Garden, she can do this! Everything will be fine! _Why are telling me this?!_ "

" _Iris, for God's sake stop acting like a child!_ " Kayla roared.

Iris slowly sat down, Kayla's face angry despite not looking at her.

"Iris..." Kayla sighed. "I'm telling you to live in that universe. For a brighter future. Protect it and guide her when she needs it most." The Commander reached out and grabbed Iris' hand, squeezing it tightly. The Exo could see tears welling up. "Tell her that I give her my days. The days yet to come. The days I never got to have. Where we are safe...Fuck..." Kayla held her face in her free hand. "Iris, I don't want to die...I don't want my life to have meant absolutely nothing..."

"Please...Commander, there has to be another way..."

"You know there isn't..." Kayla said, composing herself. "When she destroys the Black Heart and Atheon you must find Osiris. The Vex in that universe won't stay defeated for long and I fear that there could be some sort of resurgence down the line. You need to prepare them."

"I...Alright..."

"Commander?" Mio's voice said over the intercom. "They're here."

Kayla quickly composed herself. "Iris, go. Now!"

"But-!" Iris protested as an explosion rocked the frigate.

"There's no time to explain, go!" Kayla yelled, pressing a Vex device of her own.

"C-Commander..." Iris said uneasily as a temporal portal appeared behind her.

"Ohhhh, for god's sake!" Kayla groaned, pushing Iris into the portal.

Iris tumbled through the portal, arriving on a dusty red sand dune. "No, Commander!" she yelled, scrambled up the sand. "Kayla, wait!"

But it was too late. Iris watched in vain as the portal snapped shut. All that was left was the sound of the wind blowing gently over Mars' desert. Iris angrily punched the sand.

"Y-You can't leave me here alone..." she whispered, holding back tears.

* * *

 **NEXT TIME:** Kayla and Ghost head to Mars in search of the Black Garden. But first they must create an opening in the Cabal Exclusion Zone in **Chapter 1-20: Spearhead**.


	20. 1-20) Spearhead

**A/N:** One more arc until the Vault of Glass! Ohhhh boy!

Also, I apologise for the sheer gaps between chapters. But I won't have a job after September, so more writing! Hahahaha, kill me.

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ and _Destiny 2_ are owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only Kayla, Delta, Hayley-13, Jaeger and Shifter-45. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 04:** Fruit of the Garden

 **Chapter 020:** Spearhead

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **City, Tower**_

 _ **Hall of Guardians**_

"Kayla," Zavala boomed with all the authority of a general, his voice echoing around the room. "Today you stand on the edge of a critical mission. You must infiltrate Mars and secure the location to the entrance of the Black Garden. You may not be the first Guardian on Mars, but I must warn you that the Cabal that live there are ruthless and brutal in their efficiency. Do not underestimate them."

"I understand, Sir," Kayla nodded.

Zavala smiled at her. "Good luck out there, Guardian."

Kayla left the Hall of Guardians in silence, heading to the gun market having finally decided to get something different from her NCV.

Once again Kayla found herself in the Tower's giant marketplace looking into Banshee's gun stock. Although the Exo's gruff exterior may have fooled many Kayla knew that the old gunsmith appreciated her presence. From what Ghost had told her, and her own research, the Cabal seemed to enjoy using blockade and pressure tactics similar to those deployed by the Roman Empire. As such Kayla was after a shotgun of some sort.

"Cabal, eh?" Banshee mused. "If it's a shotgun yer after I recommend this." The Gunsmith rummaged around at the back of his stall. Eventually he pulled out a sleek Crucible shotgun. It had a thick black barrel and a metallic red and blue stock. ""This...is the Matador 64. Decent power, good recoil, but the _real_ killer is the range. You can afford to take a few Slug Rifle hits cos the range'll guarantee a hit into the damn turtle's stomach."

"Oh, ok" Kayla said as Banshee handed her the Matador. "Thanks."

"Just...don't tell Shaxx you got one of these things," Banshee warned, levelling a serious look. "The less I hear about Crucible scrubs the better.

"O-Ok?" Kayla asked, hesitantly looking at the shotgun she had just been given.

"Trust me. Don't."

* * *

 _ **Later...**_

Kayla was soon in orbit above Mars, running final checks on her weapons. On her way there she had taken time to research the Cabal. They were a militaristic industrial empire that apparently spanned hundreds of worlds across the Milky Way. They were primarily amphibious, Kayla noting that almost any book the Tower had on them comically referred to them as turtles more than once. Despite this, the records took great care to stress how dangerous they were: despite the mocking nickname the Vanguard's forces had given to them in reality they were towering, hulky masses of carnivorous, leather-skinned warriors covered in thick protective armour that would put a Titan to shame and were fond of using miniature rockets in all of their weaponry.

For one the Cabal were absurdly resilient for an amphibious species, and were particularly hard to root out of a given area which was not helped by the fact that they had a habit of burrowing into mountains and filling them with heavily fortified labyrinths. However, despite this Mars was not entirely their cup of tea as evidenced by their armour. Each suit of Cabal armour had a built in climate-control device that presumably mimicked the humid climate of their homeworld. In this sense Kayla felt sorry for them: for all their might the Cabal could never take off their suits during their time on Mars.

After checking all her weapons Kayla descended over the endless dunes of the Red Planet. She had seen pictures of Meridian Bay when she was alive, thinking back to the lush emerald fields, endless flowing rivers, sparkling coast and the huge snow capped mountains she'd adored so much. Now it was barren. The red sand went on for miles, broken up by even redder rock. Burrowed into the cliffs and mountains were thousands of fortifications, ranging from outposts to bases: the telltale sign of the Cabal. Dominating the landscape was a vehicle as tall as the Empire State Building and a wide as Kayla's hometown. It was armed to the teeth with every weapon she could think of, from turrets to lasers, and Kayla wouldn't be surprised if there were several missile silos.

"What the hell is that?" Kayla gasped in shock, changing her ships flight path to avoid the vehicle.

"A Land Tank, the Cerberus Vae III," Ghost replied. "The centre of most of the Cabal activity here. I'd stay clear if I were you."

Kayla obliged and continued across the desert sands. From the cockpit she could see a mangled, scorched wasteland in the distance. It was still smouldering so whatever had happened did so recently, though Kayla thought it had been subjected to orbital bombardment.

"I'm getting reports coming through that the Cabal presence in the Exclusion Zone has decreased," Ghost said, confused and slightly surprised. "Quite dramatically too. Valus Ta'aurc wasn't happy. He's requested for some Psion Flayers to find the source. I wonder who caused it...?"

"Oh, I can guess," Kayla said, her mind drifting to the Last Array. "On the plus it should be easier for us to move around."

After flying over the deserts a little longer Kayla and Ghost left the ship on a rocky, dusty plateau. It was dusk and the sky was cast in a hazy blue as the sun started to set. Kayla could see Mars' two moons, Deimos and Phobos appear over the horizon. She'd heard stories in the Tower that the Cabal had moved Phobos out of alignment, supposedly for a second armada, and seeing Phobos disturbingly close to Mars she found herself believing the stories. It was both frightening and awe-inspiring.

On the other side of the small canyon she found herself in Kayla could see the broken spires of Freehold peeking over the rocks. Kayla didn't want to think of the sorry state of the city but she had a feeling she would be heading there soon. For now Kayla focused on a nearby Cabal outpost. Sure enough it had been burrowed into the red rock.

"So where's the gate to the Black Garden?" Kayla asked as she walked through the canyon, sand crunching beneath her boots.

"Miles from here," Ghost sighed. "And to make matters worse the Cabal have a lock on Orbital communication."

"Meaning no Sparrow, great!" Kayla muttered.

"If I can hack into their grid I can at least give us our bike back. And, seeing as the Cabal are the residents of this place, perhaps they'll know something I can dig up too." Ghost then glanced at Kayla. "Be careful. The Cabal supposedly blow up moon and planets if they can't go around them."

Kayla made a face. "...How can you not be able to fly a ship around a planet?"

Ghost made a shrugging motion in response.

Kayla cautiously made her way down the small canyon, keeping to the long shadows made by the setting sun. She figured it would be foolish to waltz in head on, so instead she stuck close to the wall, trying to find a maintenance entrance. Sure enough, bored into the rock was a small door. Kayla checked the entrance for any Cabal before warily making her way into the base. The interior was cold and metallic, orange warning lights flashing on black steel. Kayla figured it fit the Cabal to a T. It served its purpose, nothing more. As she made her way down the gloomy corridor, guided only by the dim emergency lighting, Kayla decided to pick Ghost for answers.

"So...what are the Cabal's units?" she asked.

"Hmm..." Ghost mused. "The main bulk of their forces are made up of Legionnaires. Then there are Phalanx's which have shields. They're normally commanded by Centurions who are shielded. Colossi are next, I'd...I'd stay out of their way. Oh! And the Psions: they're quick and probably psychic."

"Wonderful," Kayla said sarcastically, coming out to a large garage. The place was unusually empty making Kayla feel extremely uneasy. She walked through the brightly lit garage, Ghost flying ahead to a nearby console.

"Let's see..." he murmured. "This seems to be linked to the orbital grid...hahaha!"

"What's so funny?" Kayla asked.

"The Cabal are so stupid!" Ghost replied, laughing. "They only have basic firewalls! Even DOS is harder to pull off!"

No sooner had he said that the alarms began to blare, bathing the base in a red glow. Kayla could feel karma laughing at them. All she could do was level a very annoyed stare at her friend.

 **(Cabal Stomp- Destiny OST)**

Ghost looked at her, then at the console. "So, er...think I activated their failsafe."

"Ghost, have you met my friend Sherlock?" Kayla asked. "First name 'No Shit'."

"Don't sass me."

"So what's the failsafe?" Kayla asked, running to the opening doors.

"Reserves," Ghost said worriedly. "Lots...and lots of reserves."

Kayla watched on as three dozen dropships deployed a dozen lumbering masses of green-brown armour each. From the distance she could see another two dropships heading in her direction. Kayla quickly turned to Ghost.

"Info?" Kayla asked quickly.

"They're from the Sand Eaters unit," Ghost said as he hacked the console. "Basic infantry, least experienced."

The first wave of Cabal stomped their way over, barricading the exit with the sheer size of their squat bodies. They were quite rotund and heavy set, but still managed to be a full foot clear of Kayla. Their heads were small compared to their bodies and covered in a sleek grey helmets that didn't appear to have a visor of any kind. Kayla figured from the simple design that these were Legionnaires.

The Warlock quickly ducked behind a metal crate as the Legionnaires opened fire, the explosive round rocketing past her head. Kayla peeked her head up, firing at the Cabal with her PRI-45. She managed to pop a few heads but for the most part the Cabal endured the hits. Annoyed, she switched to her Nihilist and opened fire, a hail of bullets raining down on the aliens.

As the Cabal fell, the legion changed tactics. The Legionnaires fell back and were replaced by similar Cabal carrying large full body shields, the Phalanxes. As they slowly crawled towards her Kayla squinted, looking for an opening.

"Ah, crap... " she squeaked as the Cabal began to bombard her again.

"Aim for the gun arm, it's the only way to hit them!" Ghost shouted.

"Yeah, easy for you to say, Mister!" Kayla snapped as she rolled to another crate, pressing her back against it. Kayla poked her head up again, looking like a bewildered meerkat.

She quickly threw out a Vortex Grenade causing the Phalanxes to scatter in an attempt to avoid the swirling void. Kayla took the chance to pull off some headshots in the confusion, the Cabal falling like dominoes and landing in the bloodied sand with dull thuds.

"Ghost, how we doing?" Kayla shouted over the cracks of gunfire.

"Almost done, but we've got two more ships incoming!"

Kayla nodded, easing her way out of the bunker and keeping to the cover as the Cabal flanked the entrance.

"Heads up, we've got a Centurion!" Ghost warned.

Kayla peered over a rock, spotting a large Cabal soldier with fancy shoulder pads and two jump jets on his back. She switched to her Nihilist again and opened fire on the Legionnaires, the alien soldiers almost stunned by the sheer bravado of the Guardian.

"Hold firm!" the Centurion, a female, ordered. "For Ta'aurc!"

"For Ta'aurc!" the Cabal chanted, redoubling their efforts with renewed vigour.

Kayla retreated slightly, diving behind a rock and firing blindly over it. These creatures were unlike any of the other species she had fought before. They were utterly ruthless, with a cold merciless efficiency that made the Hive almost look tame in comparison.

Kayla kept her head down, only to yelp as the explosive rounds began to tear away the rock.

"Ghost, a distraction would be nice!" Kayla yelled over the comms.

"Got one coming right up!" Ghost replied.

Right on cue an explosion rocked the exterior of the outpost. The Cabal turned, changing formation to combat the apparent new threat and allowing Kayla to launch a Nova Bomb at the battalion, destroying the Cabal in one swift motion. Kayla stood on the outcrop looking down at the dead aliens, exhausted.

 **(End 'Cabal Stomp')**

"Seriously, how can you _not go around a planet?_ " Kayla asked, hopping down with a sigh. "How are we doing Ghost?"

"Just about got it," Ghost replied as Kayla strolled into the bunker. "There we go! Sparrow's accessible. I also got a map of the immediate area, just so we're not wandering around sand dunes."

"Is there anything you can't do?" Kayla smirked.

"Wood. It's my only weakness," Ghost lamented, making Kayla laugh. "I also got some info on what the Cabal are doing here."

"Go on," Kayla said.

"It sounds like they came here for resources, but discovered Vex ruins here and began to research them instead."

"That's not too surprising, I guess."

Ghost nodded. "They've been at war with a programme of Vex pretty much ever since they arrived two hundred years ago...my Cabal is a little sketchy, but the programming name translates to the Virgo Prohibition."

"The Cabal have been at war for two hundreds?" Kayla asked in shock.

"It's not too surprising," Ghost replied matter-of-factly. "The City's been around for just over one hundred and at war since its inception. Anyway, the Gate appears to be in the Valley of Kings. There's a small base on the way there but we'll cross that bridge as and when."

Kayla nodded and reloaded her guns before setting off on her Sparrow, following the waypoint on her helmet's HUD. As she cruised along a crude dusty path between the dune she couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness. She knew how much Freehold, and by extension Mars, meant to humanity. The City State of Freehold was Earth's first off world settlement, starting out as a small NASA colony before gradually being extended into the centre of technology that it was during the Golden Age. Now all that remained were the mountains and the very tops of the spires that poked out of the dunes like giant metal trees. All the rest had been swept away, like everything else the Darkness touched.

Kayla eventually came out to a large plateau, stopping abruptly. On one side was a huge Cabal fortification, dominated by a black metal wall at least ten stories high. It was defended by raised steel trenches and four large gun turrets that, thankfully, seemed to be out of commission. On the other side was a swarm of Vex that were bombarding the Cabal base with intense ferocity. They were silvery-blue in colour, indicating they were the Virgo Prohibition.

"Eesh, that looks nasty..." Ghost said with a slight grimace.

"Yeah, not fighting that," Kayla said, kicking the Sparrow into high gear and speeding through the battlefield before the warring aliens had a chance to realise what was going on. Kayla continued down the winding path, eventually coming to a small outpost. Kayla slowed down, hopping off the hoverbike and taking cover behind a rock.

"Through here?" Kayla asked, looking through the scope of her PRI.

"Yeah," Ghost replied. "I'm tagging a Cabal leader by the name of Bracus Tho'ourg. If we kill him we can access the base unhindered."

"Sounds simple enough," Kayla noted, figuring she was too used to her life as a Guardian now.

Sighing, she made a run for the outpost, the Cabal on watch spotting quickly and having little time to react as Kayla opened fire. The alarm quickly surrounded and soon the entirety of the outpost's soldiers were lumbering towards her, led by Phalanxes and supported by Legionnaires.

Kayla rushed them, throwing a Vortex Grenade to scatter them then firing her Matador on them. The initial Cabal fell as the shotgun shells pierced their guts but the warriors quickly regrouped. Kayla ducked as one tried to punch her, firing in its face and making the Legionary fall to the ground as more surrounded her. The young Warlock quickly dispatched them and charged a Phalanx only to get blindsided when it smacked her with its shield, the sheer force sending her flying into the outpost wall.

"Argh!" Kayla screamed as her shoulder shattered on impact. "Fucking hell!"

Kayla grunted as she pulled herself up off the ground, blood oozing through the damp fabric of her robe. She quickly dropped her Matador and pulled out her PRI, firing at the Phalanx's gun hand. The Cabal roared as the bullets pierced his hand, stumbling as he did so. Kayla took the chance to fire as many bullets as she could into him and soon the Phalanx was dead.

With the Cabal slaughtered Ghost cautiously made his way to Kayla.

"My god, this hurts!" Kayla shouted as Ghost began to heal her.

"Stay still," Ghost grumbled. "I can't heal you if you writhe around like that."

"You try getting thrown into a wall, see how you like it!"

The bickering was broken up by the sound of clapping. The pair turned to find a Centurion in grey and orange armour walking towards them. Ghost glanced at Kayla, unsure of what to make of the Cabal.

"Um...?" Ghost started.

"This is what your kind does to praise another, is it not?" the Centurion said casually.

"Why would you applaud me?" Kayla asked, moving her now healed shoulder.

The Centurion laughed. "You hacked our orbital grid for one. Not many Guardians have done that. Your Dead Person is very smart."

"Aw, that's nice," Ghost said, turning to Kayla. "Isn't that nice of him?"

"Don't go cuddling up to the enemy!" Kayla hissed before speaking to the Centurion. "You're Bracus Tho'ourg, aren't you?"

The Centurion nodded. "Yes, I am."

"Are you here to kill me?" Kayla asked, standing up.

"That depends," Tho'ourg replied, perching himself on a rock. "If you're here for the Gate."

Kayla instinctively made for her Matador, making Tho'ourg laugh. "A soldier if I ever saw one."

"I'm a doctor, actually," Kayla retorted.

"They do say that doctors are as knowledgeable at administering pain as they are curing it," Tho'ourg said with a shrugging.

Kayla's eyes narrowed slightly. Slowly she lowered her gun. "You're not wanting to fight, are you?"

Bracus Tho'ourg looked up at the night sky. "Look up there," he said pointing to Ursa Major. "Go forward, then turn left and keep going for a couple of million light years and you'll reach my home world. I haven't been there in two hundred years." The Bracus stood, walking to a dead Cabal and placing on his chest in a quiet salute.

"That's a long time," Kayla said. "Don't you...don't you get shore leave?"

"You mean can I return home?" Tho'ourg said with a chuckle. "Were it so easy. When I came here I conquered that ruin over the dunes single handed. Now I spend my days following Ta'aurc and Sha'aul's orders about fighting these damn machines. A fool's game."

"Then why not just leave?"

"Mutiny? Like Tra'aug? And shame myself and my soldiers?" Tho'ourg replied with a shake of his head. "Duty commands me to follow the orders of Dominus. No matter how futile. Duty is victory. Mutiny is death. Now...to business. Why are you here."

"The Vex here are plan something," Kayla said. "I need to stop it, but to do that I have to break into one of your bases."

"And you're assuming that by negotiating with me I will willing give up the access codes? An interesting gambit."

"What do you say?"

Tho'ourg looked up at the sky, admiring Phobos' eerie beauty. "If your side and my side were allies, then yes. Sadly, Primus Sha'aul and Valus Ta'aurc have instructed us to hold position against the Vex and the Guardians. Orders are duty. Duty is victory."

Tho'ourg quickly drew his rifle and opened fire on Kayla. Kayla glided to a rock and used it to propel herself into the air, firing down on Tho'ourg with her Matador. Tho'ourg dodged, surprisingly nimble, and swiped her with his rifle, smacking her in the face and flooring her. Kayla groaned as Tho'ourg raised his heavy boot.

"Look out!" Ghost warned.

Kayla quickly rolled out of the way, firing on Tho'ourg again. Tho'orug broke out into a run in an attempt to grab Kayla. She dodged again, Void punching him like a Titan. The Bracus shrugged it off and turned again only to find himself weakened by Kayla's lingeri g Energy Drain. Kayla quickly fired off more shotgun shells, filling Tho'ourg with lead.

Tho'ourg looked at Kayla, stunned. After a moment he laid down, chuckling. "I did my duty," he sighed. "For my home. For my Dominus. I could ask for no better end." He turned his head towards Kayla. "Thank you."

Kayla kneeled beside him, imitating the salute Tho'ourg gave to his dead comrade earlier. Ghost kept close to her.

"What are you doing?" Ghost whispered.

"He's a soldier," Kayla replied. "I'm honouring."

Tho'ourg half-laughed. "You hack our network, murder two outposts, kill a Bracus and give him his last rites? You make a very curious Guardian."

Kayla stayed with Bracus Tho'ourg as passed away quietly. After taking a moment to compose herself she let Ghost download the base's access codes before setting off on her Sparrow, journeying through the dunes in silence. From her pocket Ghost watched, seeing Kayla's mind visibly tick over after the fight with Tho'ourg. He remembered her worries about being a Guardian and her previous life as a doctor-in-training. It was clear she was still conflicted about the whole situation.

"When you told me about the Cabal I imagined savage conquerors," Kayla said sadly. "Like _Independence Day_ or _Star Wars_. But the Cabal...they're soldiers, just like us."

"Do you want to stop for a moment?" Ghost offered.

"No, no," Kayla said quickly, rounding a corner. "It's just...two hundred years...it's a long time, y'know? And the City has been it for over a hundred, we're still only a settlement under the Traveller fighting at least four other civilizations that are trying to exterminate us. I just wonder sometimes...is it enough?"

"It will be," Ghost replied. "It has to be."

"I hope so..."

The pair continued onwards, coming to a cliff edge overlooking what Kayla knew was once Meridian Bay proper; once a lush sandy bay it was now a deep, wide chasm. On one side, burrowed into the nearby hill was a Cabal fort. On the other, floating above the large chasm, was a complicated series of what appeared to be clock faces that formed a giant Vex gate. For now it was inactive.

"Huh. I don't remember that in the brochure," Kayla said, hopping off her Sparrow.

"The coordinates Uldren gave us match up," Ghost said as Kayla approached the Vex structure. "This is the gate to the Black Garden. It won't work without a Gate Lord's eye. Obviously...I wonder if the Cabal know anything."

"Couldn't hurt to look," Kayla said, turning to face the base. "The Cabal would already be attacking us by now."

"You think something's up?"

"Big scary Vex gate on one side, big scary Cabal base on the other," Kayla held out her arms to the vast, quiet bay. "No enemies. You do the maths."

Kayla and Ghost approached the Cabal fort, nervous about what had happened here. As she cautiously moved through the fortifications she found food left out in the open, what looked to be some sort of chessboard abandoned miduse and dismantled guns that seemed to have been in the middle of cleaning. The worst part of it all was the silence. It wasn't just quiet, there was...nothing. An eerie silence lingered across the Valley of Kings and whenever Kayla glanced at the Vex gate she couldn't help but shake the feeling she was being watched.

"I _really_ don't like this..." Kayla said, cautiously peering into what looked like the control room.

"There's a computer in there," Ghost said quietly. "I don't think anybody's home so we shouldn't have any trouble."

Ghost flew over to the computer, Kayla standing guard by the entrance. After a moment he spoke again.

"Impressive. The Cabal managed to physically penetrate the Vex cognition mesh," he said, glancing back at Kayla. "Basically the Vex equivalent of a battle network."

"Guess they're not as stupid as you thought," Kayla said.

"There's a lot here, but I don't think they have the context to make sense of it," Ghost explained. "They don't even seem to understand what the Gate is. Oh...I found some diary entries from the local Bracus, Dra'ang, they're...oh my god..."

"What? What is it?" Kayla asked, looking at the screen. As she read she felt a cold shiver claw its way up her spine.

* * *

 _ **Name:**_ _Dra'ang_

 _ **Rank:**_ _Bracus_

 _ **Faction:**_ _Siege Dancers_

 _ **Day 1,573**_

 _I have arrived at Outpost 21-A to take over the local Sand Eaters after their Bracus' disappearance. Something's amiss, however. I know that the scout Legions on this planet have all but lost their morale, I even hear speak that the Dominus has abandoned us, but they seem awfully quiet. I will have to investigate further. If mutiny if afoot it must be stamped out. Praise the Dominus_

 _-_  
 _ **Day 1,586**_

 _I have kept a watchful eye on the soldiers here and I have noticed that some of them have left. Deserters? Traitors? The other soldiers just look away and immerse themselves in their given tasks. They don't even have the vigour of soldiers anymore, it's almost as though they are awaiting something. Praise the Dominus._

 _ **Day 1,598**_

 _More soldiers disappeared last night and every day I wake up and find the outpost more and more afraid. They know, but they won't speak. I even duelled my second-in-command for information though he was very reluctant to give it up when he lost. Apparently the structure the outpost is watching over is a Vex gate, but something about it has my men spooked. This must looked into further. Praise_ HIM.

 _ **Day 1,605**_

 _The Vex gate is doing something to us. I don't how but whatever is on the other side is swallow my men. I must find out what this is. These are_ MY _men and I will not allow these_ PRAISE HIM _to take us. For glory! For the Empire!_ PRAISE HIM!

 _ **Day HIM**_

 _I've looked into the gate and it turns out that this gate first activated when Primus Sha'aul activated that_ PRAISE HIM _spire in his Blind Legion's Iron Line. More of my men have disappeared and I will be damned if I let these_ PRAISE HIM _take on more of them!_ PRAISE HIM! PRAISE HIM!

 _ **PRAISE 1,625**_

 _More of us have disappeared. We can't leave this place._ PRAISE HIM _traps us here with their fog. My_

 _men have given up but I will not let_ PRAISE HIM _take_ PRAISE HIM _from this place. I have never been_

 _so scared in my life._ PRAISE HIM _are unlike anything I've ever encountered. They_ fit the design. _They_

are perfect. _They are in my head and I can't get rid of them._

 _ **PRAISE HIM**_

 _I am safe in the fog. I am safe in the fog. I am safe in the fog._

 _ **PRAISE HIM, PRAISE HIM**_

 _The Dominus has abandoned us._ PRAISE HIM _. That much is clear. I will never see home again._ PRAISE

HIM. _If someone find this, then please_ PRAISE HIM. _Leave Mars, it is cursed. This planet belongs to_

 _the machines._ PRAISE HIM

 _ **PRAISE HIM**_

PRAISE HIM. PRAISE HIM. PRAISE HIM. PRAISE HIM. PRAISE HIM.

* * *

Kayla closed the log, unable to take anymore of Dra'ang's insane ramblings. All she wanted to do was leave this valley. Would the Vex let them?

"I think..." Kayla said. "Are best bet is to find this Primus Sha'aul. And get the fuck out of this place."

"Already done it," Ghost said. "He's in charge of the Blind Legion, the elite soldiers of the teams on Mars. It won't be easy, but I'll try to get more information for tomorrow."

"Good," Kayla said, heading for the door.

She had never left a place quicker in her life.

* * *

 **Next time:** Kayla takes on the heart of the Cabal Exclusion Zone as she makes her way to the Garden's Spire in **Chapter 1-21: The Iron Line**


	21. 1-21) The Blind Legion

**A/N:** So...I've had to split this chapter in two as I got to 4000 words and wasn't even halfway done. The second should be uploaded...soonish? Enjoy!

 **EDIT: 25/04/18**

Fused this chapter and the next chapter together, renamed 'The Blind Legion'

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ and _Destiny 2_ are owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I own only Kayla and other OCS. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 04:** Fruit of the Garden

 **Chapter 021:** The Blind Legion

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **The Last City**_

 _ **Tower**_

 _ **The Next Day...**_

Kayla watched from her bed as Ghost filtered through the data they stole from the Valley of Kings outpost. Out of everything Ghost had floating around him two things were cropping quite regularly: the Blind Legion and Primus Sha'aul. Beside Kayla were a few books on the various Cabal legions.

The Sand Eaters were the easiest to encounter, making up the bulk of the Cabal soldiers on Mars. Although the books noted that they had the most novice tactics they, as Kayla had learned, would press on with fierce determination. They have been the longest deployed and thus had the weakest morale, a lot of divisions stemming from loyalty to Valus Ta'aurc or a splinter group led by Valus Trau'ug.

The next up were the Dust Giants, a legion formed on Mars made up of veterans of the Sand Eaters and were essentially a reserve force sent to reinforce crumbling lines during Vex offensives. Their loyalty was an odd one as they seemed to be loyal to Ta'aurc and Ta'aurc alone as opposed to the Cabal Emperor.

One of the elite legions on Mars were the Siege Dancers. They were primarily an engineering crew, working as an advance shock force and setting up forts. They also acted as a demolitions crew and regularly blew up skyscrapers in Freehold in competitions. Like the previous two they were led by Valus Ta'aurc.

Finally there was the Blind Legion, led by Primus Sha'aul. Identifiable by their white armour, they were the strongest legion in Meridian Bay. Although they were widely feared by the City, they spent most of their time clustered around Vex structures and defending them for Sha'aul.

"Ok," Ghost said finally, Kayla peering up from her book. "I've cobbled together a plan to charge Zydron's eye."

"That's...good?" Kayla asked.

"Yeah. There's a Vex spire that we can use to reawaken the eye. Once we charge it we can use it to open the gate in the Valley of Kings."

"I'm sensing a 'but'."

Ghost nodded a little. "It's deep in the Iron Line, a warbase controlled by the Blind Legion. The good news: we activate the spire we get into the Black Garden."

"And the bad news?" Kayla asked.

"Chances are we'll have to fight Primus Sha'aul to get to it. I hope you're ready for war because we'll be hitting the Cabal we're they're strongest."

* * *

 _ **Mars**_

 _ **Meridian Bay**_

Kayla landed in the same area as she did the day previous, heading off on her Sparrow to the large warzone she'd blitzed through originally. As she came out into the wasteland she found the Vex and the Cabal still fighting fiercely and Kayla had to give the space turtles credit: they knew how to outlast the Vex to some degree.

The Voidwalker kept to the rocks, the roasting midday sun making her helmet stuffy. She could see that the firebase, Rubicon, was built on a slant which gave the Cabal a tactical advantage. However the Vex were able to respawn indefinitely, something that the Cabal probably knew too well and Kayla wouldn't be surprised if the Vex had deliberately led them into a war of attrition.

"What are you planning?" Ghost asked as Kayla laid down on a rock.

"They Cabal and the Vex are constantly fighting, right?" Kayla said. "If I can take advantage of the chaos I can rush the base and hopefully slip through."

"That sounds crazy," Ghost deadpanned.

"Yeah, but you like crazy," Kayla said, grabbing Ghost and breaking out into a run.

Kayla jumped, gliding into the Vex army before running a full pelt up the hill. The Vex slowly turned and began firing on Kayla with their slap rifles. Kayla ducked and dived in the sand, attacking the machines with her Matador. Bits of metal flew everywhere as radiolarian fluid splattered over the red dune, Kayla scrambling to her feet and charging up the hill, blasting every Vex that got in her way.

"I really wish you had Fist of Havoc right now!" Ghost shouted over the gunfire.

"You take that back!" Kayla yelled, gliding over the trench wall, stunning the Cabal.

The Sand Eaters all focused on the Guardian, opening fire with a deluge of slug rounds. Kayla roared, launching a powerful Nova Bomb into the base, shaking the walls as the explosion rocked the trench, a wave of Void Light rushing down the trenchway killing every Cabal in it path.

"Really?" Ghost asked as Kayla made off through the base. " _THAT'S_ what's upsetting you right now?"

Kayla ignored her companion, switching to her Nihilist and taking cover behind a doorway. She could hear the Cabal heading for the back entrance to the trench either to corner her or flush her out through the front. She peeked out, seeing a large platoon of Legionnaires waiting. Taking a deep breath, Kayla threw a Vortex Grenade at the Legionnaires to scatter them before opening fire with the Nihilist, the heavy bullets piercing the Cabal's thick armour. With the initial Legionnaires dead Kayla switched to her Matador and broke out a run to the Centurion guarding the only exit at the back of the wall. The hulking beast opened fire as Kayla got close, the Warlock dodging most of the shots. Kayla got up close, the Centurion swiping her with his gun. She ducked before pumping multiple shells into the Centurion's gut, killing it near instantly. Before the Cabal had a chance to regroup Kayla had already disappeared up the valley.

"Well," Kayla panted, catching her breath on a rock. "That was fun."

"Is it possible...for a Light-based AI...in a robot body...to wet its pants?" Ghost asked, also catching his breath. "Cos I'm pretty sure I just did that."

"Haha, lovely!"

Kayla quietly set off up the steep hill, the midday sun still beating down on her. Around her were shrubs and dead, brittle trees which reminded Kayla of a show on prehistory she had seen as a child. Kayla clambered her way up the rocks, finding the signs of another Cabal fort nearby. Suddenly she realised that this wasn't a fort.

"This is a checkpoint," Kayla said, sneaking her way to the next Cabal contingent.

"Cabal really don't do things by halves it seems," Ghost noted.

"Can I see that map you took?"

Ghost nodded and projected a map. The pair were currently holed out in Rubicon Wastes, with the Iron Line a little bit further on from the checkpoint and, marked in the centre thanks to Dra'ang's logs, was the Vex spire. The only thing between them was a small battalion of regular infantry and the entirety of the Blind Legion.

"We...we _can_ do this right?" Ghost asked.

Kayla looked at the map, and then glanced at Ghost. "You think we can't?"

"I'm...apprehensive," Ghost admitted. "My calculations are...well, let's just say they're slim to none existent."

"Really? That high?" Kayla grinned, making for the next outpost.

Kayla kept to the rocky cover, spying a small fort in the canyon wall. The fort was surrounded by standard Cabal infantry; however it also had several slim, spindly lizard-like creatures running around. They were a little shorter than Kayla and looked the polar opposite of the regular Cabal.

"Ghost, what are those?" Kayla whispered.

"Psions," Ghost replied as a pair of them squawked at each other. "A slave race to the Cabal."

"They're the psychic ones," Kayla said, looking at Ghost. "Right?"

"Yeah. Be careful."

Kayla nodded then sprinted to the outpost, taking down the two Psions with ease. Gliding up to the top of the fort's walls she opened fire on the bewildered Cabal with her Nihilist, mowing down the heavy soldiers while they scrambled for cover. They soon retaliated and began blasting her with their slug rifles, Kayla ducking to avoid the worst of it. She quickly threw a Vortex Grenade at the unit before switching to her Matador and jumping down into the scattered troop, firing her shotgun rapidly. In a few short blasts most of the Legionnaires and Phalanxes were down, leaving Kayla with a lone Centurion.

Kayla opened fire on the Centurion. It dodged nimbly, leaping to a high vantage point using its jump jets. Kayla quickly switched to her PRI only to get knocked off her feet by something slamming into the side of her.

" _FUCK!_ " Kayla cried out in shock as she skidded through the sand onto the cold metal base floor. "What the fuck was that?"

She slowly stood up, seeing a Psion holding its palm out. Was that what caused it? Were they really that powerful? Kayla shook her head and aimed her rifle at it, only for the Psion to blast another wave of energy out of its palm, sending Kayla back into the base wall.

"Yup!" Kayla said through gritted teeth, feeling her back crack. "Definitely that!"

Kayla quickly fired at the Psion, ending it with a swift headshot. No sooner had she done that the Centurion fired with its Projection Rifle. Kayla scrambled to the right and began firing on the Centurion but the Cabal leaped over the wall, the Warlock gliding and clambering to the top of the fort walls.

"He's making a run for it!" Ghost exclaimed, watching the Centurion half run, half slide his way back down to Firebase Rubicon. "How...how can something that _fat_ move so _fast?_ "

"If he gets there he'll warn the others!" Kayla said, vaulting the wall and chasing after the Centurion.

Although the Centurion was further ahead Kayla's lither frame allowed her to close the distance, avoiding the rocks that the Centurion was stumbling over. Kayla braced herself, jumping off a rock as she neared the bottom of the slope and gliding off. She landed on the Centurion's back, pulling upwards to try and make it stop. The Centurion growled as it tried to shake her off, slamming into the walls in a vain attempt to stop her. Kayla clung to the Cabal's back, pulling out her Matador and pressing it to the creature's neck.

"I...I'm so, so sorry," Kayla said, realising what she was about to do. With a deep breath she fired, the Cabal held being ripped clean off by the force of the impact. The corpse slumped forward, Kayla rolling off with her robe drenched in Cabal blood.

She kneeled, staring at the bloodstained sand as the weight of what she had done sunk in. She could her feel her fingers lose feeling, the numbness creeping its way up her arms like a spider. Her chest tightened as her breathing escalated into a rapid panting.

"Kayla," Ghost said, flying in front of her face. "Kayla, ground yourself. Focus on me, focus on breathing. Like Delta showed you. Iiiiiiiin..." Ghost said, Kayla joining him. "And ooooout..."

The pair stayed like that for a few minutes, the ongoing battle further down the desert echoing in the distance. Finally Kayla stood up, a little shaky.

"You alright?" Ghost asked, glancing at the dead Centurion.

"Yeah..." Kayla replied hoarsely, picking up her bloodied Matador. "Still never gets easier. Ah, boy..."

The pair stood in silence as the warm desert breeze blew gently through the canyon. After a moment Kayla set off up the hill again, Ghost following behind her closely.

Kayla and Ghost eventually came out of a Cabal tunnel that ran under the checkpoint. Before them was a large, flat plain nestled in another canyon with a large base built into the canyon wall. Towering above them was a large pyramid-like structure armed to the teeth with missile launchers and turrets. Before them were several units of Cabal on patrol around the area.

"In there?" Kayla asked, nodding to the Legion's keep.

"Yeah," Ghost said, staring at the amount of Cabal between them. "Simple, right?"

"If I answer that I'll jinx it!" Kayla laughed, taking off into the canyon

 **(Air Traffic Control- Halo ODST OST)**

She fired at the patrol with her PRI, the bullets pinging off the white armour of the Blind Legionnaires. The Cabal instinctively turned with the efficiency of Royal Marines, initially surprised by the attack but not put off, and began firing on the Warlock with brutal aggression. Kayla managed to close the gap, avoiding the gunfire for the most part and surpressing the Cabal with her gunfire of her own. She knew she couldn't give them any breathing room and while Kayla didn't like the direct approach she could tell it was either that or losing the spire for good.

Kayla continued to fire on the Cabal, keeping an eye on the Phalanxes circling her. As they closed in Kayla glided over them, switching to her Matador and firing into their backs. With some of the Phalanxes down she focused on the Legionnaires, switching back to her PRI and pouring as many bullets as she could into them.

Suddenly the patrol's Centurion grabbed her by the throat, lifting her high in the air. Kayla struggled against the tight grip of the Cabal's muscular hand, kicking the Centurion vainly in the face in an attempt to free herself. The Centurion roared, slamming Kayla into the ground as though she were a ragdoll, sand flying up everywhere on impact. She grunted in pain, quickly throwing a Vortex Grenade to scatter the eager Phalanxes that had lined up for a shot before firing the Matador at the Centurion's foot. The Centurion roared in pain as his boot erupted into a mess of shrapnel, blood and leathery flesh, forcing him to let Kayla go. The Guardian crawled backwards, aiming her shotgun at the beast again.

"Heads up!" Ghost shouted as the Centurion was suddenly ploughed down by a large Cabal hoverbike that Ghost had managed to hack.

"Ghost?" Kayla asked, as stunned as the Phalanxes that were now fending off Ghost's new toy "Where did you find that?"

"Cabal garage," the little robot replied happily as he flew towards Kayla. "You want?"

"I do!" Kayla laughed as the vehicle mowed down the last of the patrol.

"There's a small entrance hidden in the rocks," Ghost said. "We can get in through there."

"On it," Kayla said, making a dash for the canyon wall.

The entrance to the Iron Line was tucked away in a rocky hollow at the base of the towering cliffs, marked out by several maintenance lights and was guarded by two Centurions. Kayla charged up to one of them, firing the Matador into his gut. It keeled over, the second Centurion immediately opening fire on the intruder with his Projection Rifle, Kayla turning to throw a Vortex Grenade at him. The Centurion roared in pain as the Void ate away at him and Kayla took the chance to end the alien with a swift headshot from her PRI. Before she had the chance to react Kayla heard the rapid fire of a turret starting up.

"Colossus!" Ghost yelled. "Get to cover!"

Kayla dived behind a rock, peeking out to see where the turret was. To her surprise it wasn't a turret, rather a large, heavily armoured and just as well built Cabal wielding a giant gatling gun. She yelped as one of the guns bullets flew past her head, exploding on a nearby metal wall.

"Of course it fires rockets..." Kayla groaned.

"The Iron Line is under attack!" the Cabal, female, roared in a husky voice to some Legionnaires in the tunnel behind her. "Sound the alarm!"

The Colossus fired on Kayla's position, chipping away at the rock with her gun's rockets. Kayla hesitantly looked around, switching to her Nihilist. There was a metal wall to her right, but with the Colossus suppressing her there wasn't much Kayla could do at this point. Having no other option she hunched herself to the rock and fired her Nihilist at the Colossus, trying to keep to cover as best she could.

"Arrgh!" the Colossus grunted, grabbing her shoulder in pain as the bullets pierced her armour. "I'm not going to let you hide forever! _Firing all missiles!_ "

"Is it just me, or is this Colossus really hammy?" Ghost asked as Kayla watched the large pack on the Colossus' back open.

"Uh oh," Kayla said, face falling with dread as dozens of small missiles flew off in her direction. Kayla quickly rushed to the metal wall as fast of her legs would carry her. "Get out the way get out the way get out the way!"

Kayla dove behind the metal wall as the missiles destroyed her previous hiding place. She quickly poked her head out, firing her Nihilist again then ducking back as the Colossus opened fire again. Kayla composed herself as the bullets made the metal wall shake like paper.

' _Jesus!_ ' Kayla thought, stunned. ' _Cabal don't pull any punches!_ '

Kayla looked out again when she heard the Colossus reload, empty another full clip into her before ducking under again. She had to wonder how much punishment the Colossus could take. She had poured a full clip and a half into the soldier and she was still standing.

"You think you can come here and dishonour the Empire?!" the Colossus roared. "We fight for the glory of the Dominus Himself! We won't be swayed by some rat that thinks it's lucky! _ALL MISSILES: FIRE!_ "

"Oh, fuck!" Kayla cried, grabbing of Ghost and throwing him like a cricket ball.

"Kayla, wait!" Ghost cried as he found himself in the dirt, watching in horror as Kayla was bombarded with missiles.

 **(Pause)**

Smoke and dust kicked up everywhere, Ghost waiting with baited breath. Panicking he flew into the cloud of smoke. The Colossus on the other hand gave a smug, haughty laugh, proud of herself, then turned back inside.

"Honestly, Ghost?" came a voice from the smoke. "I was expecting worse than that."

"Huh?" the Colossus said, turning slightly.

"That was stupid!" came the drone's voice. "You could have died! _Again!_

"Impossible!" the Colossus gasped, aiming her gun again.

"Yeah, but I didn't," she heard the humanoid thing say, almost childishly.

"How can...? _That was a barrage of missiles!?_ "

"I thought you swore never to die again!" the drone cried, exasperated.

"That's not possible..." the Colossus breathed, shock filling her as the creature and its drone talked about dying so casually. "That's not possible..."

"Hang on, I think she's pissed," the creature said, vaguely annoyed.

"Why won't you die?!" the Cabal Colossus screamed, utterly terrified as she fired her Heavy Slug Thrower into the smoke. " _Why won't you die?!_ "

The Colossus kept firing until the smoke cleared, eyes widening in fear as the creature. She frantically looked around for it, stumbling backwards when she found it stood on a rock. It's coat was badly singed, its pants burned up to the knees and its lower torso bare, exposing its underbust, and its helmet was cracked leaving its left eye visible. What frightened the Colossus the most was the fact that its injuries were healing rapidly, almost as though they were never there in the first place.

"W-What are you?" the Colossus asked fearfully.

"I'm Kayla," the creature replied. "I'm a Guardian from the Last City on Earth. I'm three-hundred and twenty years old, and I'm the woman who's going to stop the Vex and save every race in this system." Then the 'Guardian' levelled a serious stare at the Colossus. "You got a problem with that?"

"Just...just _die!_ " the Colossus roared, raising her gun again.

Kayla jumped up, blasting the Colossus in the chest with her shotgun. The Colossus collapsed in the sands, dead.

"Well..." Ghost said after a moment. "If they didn't know we're here, I'm sure they do now."

"And I don't think it'll get any easier either," Kayla sighed.

Kayla cautiously set off into the Iron Line, gun poised and ready as she slowly made her way through the entrance tunnel. Like the rest of the Cabal's forts this one was filled was cold and served no purpose other than to house the soldiers. She imagined that these tunnels snaked their way under the entire Exclusion Zone which, if it was true, spoke volumes about the Cabal's presence on Mars.

"Oh, this is so cool!" Ghost said, fawning over the structure.

"What is it?" Kayla asked.

"This was built from a kit," he said, glancing at Kayla. "They send engineers done to burrow the mountains and build them using drones. I thought it was just humans that were into kits. This place is almost built the same as a flat pack wardrobe. Just...on a larger scale. And slightly easier, too."

The pair continued, coming to a large door. Before Ghost had a chance to hack it the door slowly opened, the hiss of hydraulics echoing throughout the room. Ghost and Kayla glanced at each other nervously.

"I...think they just invited us in," Ghost said.

Kayla hesitantly walked into the cavern. It was gloomy and lit by industrial lighting, a ramp leading up to a large doorway that Kayla figured was the entrance to the Blind Legion's base itself.

"Do you think this as a trap?" Kayla asked, shivering. "Cos it feels like a trap. Geez, it's cold..."

"Well...you are a little..." Ghost started, staring up and down Kayla before looking away shyly. "Exposed."

"Yeah..." she grumbled in response. "Might take up Zavala's crochet class."

As Kayla walked into the centre of the cavern she couldn't help but feel watched. She aimed to her right. Nothing. She spun round to the left. Also nothing.

 **(Play)**

"Something's not right..." Kayla said, jumping as loud alarms blared, the whole cavern being bathed in red. "Yeah! Definitely not right!"

Kayla took to cover as dozens of Psions, Legionnaires, Phalanxes and a couple of Centurions surrounded her on all sides. Kayla's face fell at the sheer number of Cabal she was face with, her brain working overtime trying to figure out how to take down the Blind Legion soldiers.

"You totally jinxed it by the way," Ghost said as the Psions circled round to flush her out of cover.

"Not helping, Ghost!" Kayla snapped, firing on the Psions.

The Psions fell, dead, only for Kayla to get shot at from more Psions on a ridge. Kayla mentally swore, changing positions. As she ran for a nearby rock the Legionnaires surrounded her, bombarding her with gunfire. Kayla grabbed her gut in pain as one of the rounds exploded against her stomach, blood oozing from her wound.

Kayla grunted, switching to her Matador and firing on the Legionnaires. They Cabal collapsed, dead, and Kayla staggered to a nearby rock for cover, wincing as her wound stung with every step. Ghost quickly flew out of his hiding place, making his way to her.

"Eww..." Ghost said with a grimace, staring at the large hole of mangled flesh and shrapnel. "You really ought to be more careful."

"Not. Helping. Ghost!" Kayla said through clenched teeth, wincing as Ghost's Light burned her skin back together. "Fuck, that hurt!"

Kayla peeked out of cover, noticing the Phalanxes were now defending the Legionnaires. Kayla instead focused on the Psions on the ridge, picking them off with her PRI. The first Psion fell to a single bullet, causing the other Psions to scatter. Kayla tracked one, catching it in the shin and making it stumble before killing it with a swift headshot. The third one end up trapping itself by a rock. Kayla smirked and launched a Vortex Grenade, blocking its escape while the Void drained it.

With the Psions dead Kayla turned her attention to the contingent of Cabal that were advancing on her. She quickly climbed the rock and launched a Nova Bomb from the top. The cavern shook as an explosion of Void Light engulfed the Cabal, tearing them apart and leaving nothing but dust. All that were left were the two Centurions. Kayla jumped down and switched to her Nihilist as the Centurions backed up slightly, firing at her in panic. However, fear threw off their aim and Kayla was able to dispatch them with ease.

"How you holding up?" Ghost asked, healing Kayla again.

"So-so," Kayla said, adrenaline pumping through her.

"Only so-so?"

"Still doesn't get easier," Kayla shrugged, heading to the big door. "Through here?"

"Yeah," Ghost replied, hacking the door.

Kayla cautiously entered the large room, running up the large staircase to the upper floors. As she made her way through the corridors she ended up coming out to the roof of the Iron Line. From there she could see the Legion's Keep towering above her. Beneath her was a large hollowed out pit filled with Cabal vehicles and weapons and across the pit was a bridge, leading to a fenced area that contained a large obelisk.

"I'm guessing that's the spire?" Kayla asked.

"Yeah," Ghost said. "And something tells me they won't give it up easily."

Kayla took off along the ridge of the wall, gunning down the Legionnaires that stood in her way. A Centurion charged at her, firing its Projection Rifle. Kayla dodged the rounds, firing back with her PRI. With the Centurion dead Kayla rushed to the entrance of the bridge. From the corner of eye she could see the Blind Legion congregate on the bridge in an attempt to stop her. Kayla arrived at the start of the bridged, seeing Phalanxes and Psions line up to stop her. She quickly dispatched the Psions that rushed with relative ease, then began firing on the Phalanxes from behind a crate that had been left there. She focused on one, making it drop its gun. The angered Phalanx rushed her, raising it shield. Kayla backed up slightly, narrowly avoid the shield's razor sharp edge as the Phalanx slammed it down on the ground. She quickly switched to her Matador and blasted it in the shoulder. The Phalanx roared in pain, grabbing its shoulder and dropping its shield. Kayla ran up to it and struck its chest with her palm, killing it, before throwing a Vortex Grenade at the other Phalanxes. As they were eaten by the Void Kayla pushed forward a deep bass voice came through the tannoy.

"This is Primus Sha'aul!" the voice boomed. "Hold the position until the last soldier falls! We cannot allow this thieving rat to steal our research! For the glory of the empire! For the Dominus!"

"For the Dominus!" the Cabal cried with fanatical fervour, redoubling their efforts.

A squad of four Legionnaires came charging at Kayla. Kayla stopped herself, backing up with her PRI and firing. She'd already had one down by the time the others caught up to her. One of the Legionnaires closed in, firing with its Slug Rifle. Kayla switched to her Matador and killed it only to be blindsided by another Legionary. Kayla fell to the ground, Matador flying out of reach, teetering on the edge of the bridge. Kayla tried to crawl to it, only for her wrist to be crushed under the weight of the Legionary's boot. The Cabal soldier chuckled as he aimed his gun at her.

"Ghost!" Kayla shouted.

"I got you!" Ghost said.

Suddenly a few canisters exploded, the Legionary letting Kayla go and moving to the sound. Kayla quickly crawled to the Matador, grabbing it while Ghost healed her wrist. The three Legionnaires cautiously approached the canister, unaware of Kayla rushing behind one of them and smacking it across the back of the head with her shotgun. The Legionary stumbled and turned, only to be shot in the chest. The other Legionnaires noticed and fired with angry determination. Kayla hissed in pain as round tore through part of her arm, closing the gap and firing at the Legionnaires with her Matador again.

With the Legionnaires finally dead Kayla moved forward only to be pinned by three Centurions. While Ghost healed her Kayla focused on one of the Centurions with her PRI. The Centurion panicked, leaping to a nearby platform to better reposition himself. Ghost watched from cover as Kayla pressed herself against a wall to protect her from the gunfire.

"The Centurion's got a better shot on you!" Ghost said as the Centurion fired from above.

"I know!" Kayla shouted over the gunfire, switching to the Nihilist and rushing at the other two Centurions.

"Dammit, Kayla! Remember what Anora said!"

The stunned Centurions backed themselves up as this...thing rampaged through the keep. How could it be so powerful? The weapons it was using, they looked like technology the Cabal had moved past years ago. It was so fragile and weak, and most of its armour was missing by the looks of it, yet it was tearing through the Blind Legion like it they were nothing. It was more than halfway across the bridge. The creature turned, throwing some kind of energy from her palm to their comrade on the platform. It erupted in two a swirling vortex, the energy visibly eating away at him. The two Centurions watched as their friend fell off, crashing into the pit below.

"Comrade, what do we-?" the one on the right asked his friend, only for her to be killed in front of him. The Centurion panicked and charged the creature, snarling in rage. "For the Empire!"

Kayla ducked as the Centurion swung for her, firing a round into his head. 'Halfway there' she thought. 'Only...'

Suddenly a huge barrage of missiles flew from the end of the bridge, all heading in her direction. Kayla backed up, seeing another Colossus clamber onto raised platform, firing off its gatling gun in a boast of strength. Beneath him were several Psions, all rushing towards Kayla.

Kayla opened fire on the Psions, killing some, but she was pushed back when the Colossus fired its gun at her. The Warlock ducked behind a small barrier on the bridge as the bullets flew past her. One of the remaining Psions positioned itself out of her reach and fired, Kayla moving back further along the wall. The other two Psions flanked her, keeping to cover as they did so.

"Ghost?" Kayla asked quietly.

"Y-yeah?" Ghost replied, shaking a little in fear.

"Can you fly under the bridge and do something to distract that Colossus? I can handle the Psions but not if Hulk over there is firing at me."

Ghost gave a hesitant nod. "Alright."

As Ghost flew off Kayla pushed further back, avoiding the Psions and staying ahead of the Colossus' attack. She nestled herself in a spot with a small barrier and where the Psions couldn't crowd her, keeping her back to a wall and her sightlines clear. The Psions all took cover behind several barriers or crates, the Colossus dominating the battlefield with its gatling gun. Kayla peeked through a crack in the barrier, keeping an eye on the Colossus. To Kayla's delight one of the small turrets behind the Colossus began to fire at it. Caught by surprise the Colossus turned and fired, only for another turret to aim itself as well.

"Ohh, well played, Ghost!" Kayla laughed, shooting and killing the Psions before rushing to the distracted Colossus.

The Colossus on the other hand had managed to take down the turrets. If he could get a lock on that creature's weird drone he could stop it from taking over other stuff. Its hacking skills were impeccable though and the Colossus wondered if it were better to capture the creature and its drone for Sha'aul to study.

Unbeknownst to the Colossus Ghost had managed to sneak up behind him. The little robot could see Kayla rushing towards the Cabal soldier and he figured that if he could...

"There we go!" he said in a barely audible whisper, before flying back to Kayla. "You need to see this."

"What do you mean?" Kayla asked, stopping as the Colossus turned to face her.

"Little thief, you won't get a step further!" the Colossus boomed. "All cannons: FIRE!"

Kayla instinctively made for cover as the missile pods opened. What stopped was the sound of beeping coming from the Colossus' armour. The Colossus paused, looking around frantically.

"W-Wait!" he cried. "Abort launch!"

Kayla laughed as the missiles launched and homed in on the Colossus, explosions ripping through his body. When the attack was done the Colossus staggered to the edge of the platform and fell off, the impact making the bridge shake a little. Kayla slowly made her way over to the Colossus, touching it with her foot. He was dead.

 **(Pause)**

"What did you do?" Kayla asked.

"Eh...I fiddled with his targeting system while he was distracted," Ghost said simply.

Kayla chuckled and head off. Beyond the bridge was a large circular dig site littered with small, unearthed Vex ruins. In the centre was a large obelisk hooked up to a Cabal work platform. On the other side was a tunnel leading up to the base that shadowed the entire area.

"The energy of Vex spire..." Ghost murmured. "I sure hope this works, otherwise this entire fight was a waste."

"Honestly...It's not the weirdest thing we've done if you think about it," Kayla said, scoping around the dig site.

It was quiet but Kayla couldn't shake the feeling that the Legion were monitoring her every move from their base. It wouldn't be too surprising. She quickly made her way up a ridge to a small Vex structure that was in line with the obelisk.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say this is control device," Ghost said as the pair inspected the small structure.

"You see a control device, I see a big red button," Kayla chuckled, setting the Gate Lord's eye on the structure.

"I'd step away from that if I were you, creature," came a familiar voice.

Kayla immediately readied her rifle, aiming it at the Cabal that entered the dig site. He was large, wearing white and yellow armour adorn with what Kayla could only assume were Cabal medals. On his back were two feathery adornments. The Cabal walked towards the pair quite calmly, his rifle holstered on his thigh.

"Primus Sha'aul, I presume?" Kayla asked.

"Correct," Sha'aul nodded, surprised when Kayla mimicked a Cabal salute. "You know our salute?"

"Yeah," Kayla replied. "I know I just killed a tonne of your troops, but I can still show respect to an enemy."

"Admirable. You seem to have something of a brain in that skull of yours. I've seen your kind prancing about the Meridian Bay like idiots, but I never believed one of you would be brave or foolish enough to breach the Blind Legion's Keep. You're not like the others, are you?"

Kayla remained stony faced. Sha'aul laughed. "Very good, a good Primus never reveals their plans."

"You assume me to be a Primus?" Kayla asked.

"One of your skill must be?"

"Nope. I've had four months experience."

Sha'aul paused before clapping. "Then bravo, what was your name?"

"Kayla."

"Bravo, Kayla.! You really are something special. Or..." Sha'aul let out a sadistic chuckle. "Your faction is something different."

Kayla gripped her gun tighter, ready for a fight to break out. Sha'aul turned to the obelisk. "You seem like a scholar. Tell me, what do you know of this?"

"I thought Primii never revealed each other's plans?" Kayla retorted.

"Oh, I'm not asking you as a Primus," Sha'aul replied. "I'm asking you as a scholar."

Kayla looked at Sha'aul then the obelisk. "The Vex, those machines you're all fighting? Well they want to take control of the universe. This spire holds the key to get into their home. I need that energy or the Vex will kill all of us. Guardians and Cabal."

Sha'aul laughed. "So, that's what this thing can do...I assume it's connected to the large gate in the Valley of Kings?" Kayla nodded in response. Sha'aul continued. "Then I propose we take that device you placed and enter the home of these machines ourselves."

"You can't defeat what's in there!" Kayla protested.

"And you propose we leave the fate of our Empire in the hands of you?"

"I just rampaged through the Iron Line; I'd say that's not a bad idea!" Kayla snapped.

"Maybe...but maybe if I take you to study I can empower the Cabal."

Ghost leaned in close to Kayla. "I'll wake the spire. You take care of Sha'aul."

 **(Play)**

Kayla nodded and aimed her rifle at Sha'aul. "If you don't let us take what we need and go," Kayla said. "I'm going to have to kill you."

"Very well," Sha'aul replied casually, grabbing his Projection Rifle. "Let us see how strong you are, Kayla!"

 **PRIMUS SHA'AUL**

 **ADMIRAL OF THE BLIND LEGION**

Kayla jumped off the ridge while Ghost began to hack the Vex conduit. Sha'aul was the first to attack, firing off his Projection Rifle and forcing Kayla into cover. She took potshots at him from behind the rock but the bullets barely seemed to be doing any damage. Either that or Sha'aul just wasn't fazed. Kayla cursed and glided up to the Cabal's work platform to get a better shot. She knew that her PRI wasn't doing much damage but she had a feeling she shouldn't risk getting in close with the Matador.

Sha'aul shielded his head with his large armoured forearm, chuckling at Kayla's efforts. When she reloaded he strafed with his rifle, trying to close the gap between them. Kayla turned to escape but Sha'aul used his jump jets to cut her off. She skidded to halt, allowing to Sha'aul to stomp the ground and sending out a powerful shockwave that sent Kayla flying backwards.

"Kayla!" Ghost yelled.

"Focus on the conduit, Ghost!" Kayla shouted back, standing up and noticing she'd dislocated her shoulder. "Dammit."

Kayla let out a yelp in agony as she fixed the injury, making Sha'aul laugh. "Very brave!" he boomed in delight. "I know Cabal soldiers that wouldn't do that."

Sha'aul broke off into a run forcing Kayla to double back, still firing with her PRI. Sha'aul grunted and stumbled, a bullet evidently piercing somewhere. Kayla paused as the Primus touched his left bicep, blood dripping slightly. While he was distracted Kayla opened fire again, dealing damage to Sha'aul's head and chest. Sha'aul growled, frustrated.

"I guess you're not as greennosed as you appear," Sha'aul said. "Cabal War Code #431: Take advantage of all opportunities as they present themselves."

"Isn't that just a fancy where of saying fight dirty?" Kayla asked, reloading.

"Perhaps," Sha'aul replied, jumping up to a ridge. "Cabal War Code #56: Elevation is key."

Kayla scrambled for cover as Sha'aul bombarded her with gunfire again, diving behind a rock. She waited out until she heard Sha'aul reload, throwing a Vortex Grenade at him. The Primus roared in pain as the Void Light began to eat away at him. While he was distracted Kayla glided up to the ridge and opened fire with her Nihilist, bullets riddling Sha'aul's body. Sha'aul growled in anger, charging like a bull. Kayla quickly switched to Matador, gliding slightly out of the way and firing the shotgun into Sha'aul's thigh.

Sha'aul turned, skidding in the sand and charged again, leaping off the ridge and grabbing Kayla before slamming her into the ground. Kayla felt several of her bones fracture on impact as she rolled in the sand coughing up blood.

"F-fuck..." Kayla groaned as she stood, fighting off the pain from her legs. "Have to get back to Ghost..."

Meanwhile Sha'aul casually picked up his rifle and started strolling towards Ghost to Kayla's dismay. The Warlock moved, stumbling in the sand as her legs gave way slightly. Balancing herself she fired with her Nihilist again.

"Ghost, get out of there!" she screamed.

Sha'aul's shocked growl of pain was enough to make Ghost notice. He quickly flew off to hide while Kayla bombarded the Primus with machine gun fire. Sha'aul merely shook off the pain and laughed.

"That drone...it's more than a robot, isn't it?" Sha'aul asked with intense curiousity before moving to look for Ghost again.

'Dammit..' she thought. 'Got to keep him interested in me'

With all her might Kayla glided up high and fired off a powerful Nova Bomb at the Primus. Sha'aul barely had any time to react as he say a giant orb of purple energy careen towards him. The bomb flew towards him, erupting into something almost like a black hole on impact. Sha'aul screamed in agony as he felt this strange energy burn every fibre of his being, completely ignoring his armour. What was this stuff that 'Kayla' threw out of her palms like it was the most natural thing in the world. When the energy subsides Sha'aul collapsed on the ground, seeing the little drone heal Kayla's injuries. While the creature was distracted Sha'aul searched through the logs on the Cabal Battlenet for its rampage, finding one of Kayla's infiltration.

'I'm Kayla Ashcroft. I'm a Guardian from the Last City on Earth. I'm three-hundred and twenty years old, and I'm the woman who's going to stop the Vex and save every race in this system. You got a problem with that?'

Sha'aul replayed the clip in panic.

'I'm Guardian from the Last City on Earth.'

'Guardian...Earth'

'Guardian'

"This...this is a whole new faction..." Sha'aul gasped, filled with dread.

Kayla watched as Sha'aul stood up, visibly wounded. "You witch!" he growled.

"That's Warlock!" Kayla protested childishly.

"That stuff...what was that?" Sha'aul asked, staggering down from the conduit. "No...Never mind, it won't help now...I'll just let Ta'aurc view the footage."

Kayla looked at Ghost. "Of my attack?"

Sha'aul nodded, blood and oil oozing out of his helmet. "Ta'aurc will do what I cannot. If you have an army Sol 3 then you must be stopped." Sha'aul put his fist to his chest, wincing in pain. "For the glory, nngh...of the Empire..."

"Is this a surrender?" Kayla asked.

"No..." Sha'aul said with a shake of his head. "A necessary sacrifice..."

Kayla nodded and saluted him. Sha'aul eyed the creature, his curiosity still trying to goad him to continue. But he knew he couldn't. This was a hopeless fight. That black hole attack proved it. All he could hope for was that Ta'aurc could see just how vicious and dangerous this creature was.

"Still an enigma for until the end..." Sha'aul panted. "I knew there would be more to you..."

"If the Cabal have a concept of an afterlife," Kayla said solemnly, still saluting. "I hope you find peace in it."

Sha'aul bowed his head respectfully then nodded to her Nihilist. Kayla obliged and opened fire, the Primus collapsed in a hail of bullets and blood.

 **(End 'Air Traffic Control')**

Kayla let out a relieved sigh. Slowly she made her way to the Vex conduit, her bones and muscles aching from all the fighting. After making her way to the conduit she finally took a look at the spire they'd been fighting over. The sandstone that covered it had been ripped away leaving a pristine tower that looked like it was made of blocks of strands of metal. Slowly it began to glow as a wave of energy poured into the eye. Kayla hesitantly picked it up.

"Did it work?" Ghost asked.

"Only one place we can test this," Kayla said. "Let's get back to the Tower for now. We'll figure out what we do with it tomorrow."

* * *

 _ **The Legion's Keep**_

 _ **Several hours later..**_.

The dig site around the spire was quiet aside from the various Dust Giants that were currently acting as a cleanup crew for the Blind Legion. Currently overseeing the operation was Val Zu'uarc, one of Ta'aurc's three lieutenants. Zu'uarc looked over the recent battleground, staring at the giant scorch mark from the creature's weird black hole attack. Around him were heavily demoralized Legion members, something that Zu'uarc found deeply troubling.

"This is...this is not what I expected," a Cabal said from behind him.

Zu'uarc turned to see Ma'aurg, a recently made Val and another member of Ta'aurc's lieutenants. Although he was an excellent engineer Ma'aurg was never one for direct combat, preferring to defend himself with turrets and tanks than anything else. Zu'uarc knew Ma'aurg was not cowardly but his combat skills were severely lacking.

"It's a little...unnerving."

"Even the most elite of our soldiers can be demoralised," Zu'uarc said. "Especially in circumstances like these."

"What do you mean?"

"The creature that attacked the Iron Line. It only had four months experience."

"T-that's...that's absurd!" Ma'aurg exclaimed. "It killed Primus Sha'aul!"

"Exactly," Zu'uarc said. "Can you blame them for being demoralised."

"What will they do now?"

"I imagine the Valus will take over their leadership. Then we either learn to defeat these 'Guardians' or..." Zu'uarc trailed off, looking up at Phobos. "Or we wait for the Skyburners."

"Well you two, I've got bad news and bad news," a third Val said.

Zu'uarc turned to see the last of Ta'aurc's lieutenants, Val Bo'ourc, walking towards them. She was holding a datapad in her hand, her face grim.

"Go on..." Zu'uarc said apprehensively.

"The first part is...this Guardian. From the footage I've been shown this...thing just won't die."

"Y-You're joking, right?" Ma'aurg asked, nervously.

"It took a full barrage of a Colossi's missiles to the face and lived," Bo'ourc deadpanned. Ma'aurg gulped. "That's not even the worst part. The Guardian has implied that it has died at least once before, and that it can be resurrected indefinitely. I imagine its drone, called a Dead Person, is key to this but it will need further research."

"And the other bad news?" Zu'uarc asked.

"The machines, the one the Guardian named 'Vex'...there's been a massive surge in their activity all over the Exclusion Zone that coincided with the Guardian living the Keep."

The three lieutenants all looked at each other uneasy. Zu'uarc wouldn't say it but he had a sick feeling in the pit of stomach. Something big was coming, and he was unsure they would live to see it.

* * *

 **NEXT TIME:** Kayla joins two Titans to take down Valus Ta'aurc in **Chapter 1-22: The Three Vals**


	22. 1-22) The Three Vals

**A/N:** It's amazing what you can accomplish on a week off.

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny,_ _Destiny 2_ and their expansions are all own by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only own Kayla and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 04:** Fruit of the Garden

 **Chapter 022:** The Three Vals

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **The Last City**_

 _ **Tower**_

When Kayla returned Ikora immediately took the Gate Lord's eye from her for study and safe-keeping, much to Kayla's chagrin. Although the argument was brief she finally had to relent when Ikora hinted that having a Vex item in her possession could do her more harm than good. After that Cayde offered to take her to a get a replacement set of armour and, feeling the gaze of many Guardians both male and female on her, Kayla happily and hurriedly obliged.

Cayde was probably Kayla's favourite in the Vanguard. His sarcastic, joker demeanour couldn't help but cheer her up when she was down and, if the Exo's constant offers of drinks was anything to go by, Cayde regarded Kayla the same way. One thing that surprised her was the almost gentlemanly manner in which he acted around her. Whether this was just him being polite or he was genuinely angered by the wolf-whistles that occurred on the way to the tailor Kayla couldn't tell. Nevertheless she was glad for Cayde's company.

"What about Ikora?" Kayla asked from behind a screen.

"Ikora?" Cayde said, curling his nose up in disgust. "C'mon, that's like...crushing on my older sister, geez..."

"You have a sister?"

"Hey, my family history isn't part of this conversation! Now what about you? Zavala?"

"God, no!" Kayla laughed. "He's too...professional."

"That Delta guy you hang around with then?"

"No, no. Don't get me wrong, he's nice but...I prefer, er..."

"Toyboys?" Cayde grinned. Kayla remained begrudgingly silent, making Cayde laugh. "That tells me all I need to know."

"Since when do you do kissy-kissy boy talk?" Kayla chuckled, poking her head out from behind the screen.

"Hey!" Cayde said, standing up and pointing at her. "I am an expert at kissy-kissy boy talk, ok?"

"Oh, really?" came a voice, making Cayde jump.

"A-Amanda, what, er...what are you doing here?" he asked nervously.

Amanda gave a slight chuckle. "What am I doing at a women's clothing store?"

Kayla stifled a laugh as Cayde sheepishly chuckled in response. Amanda gave a sly grin. "You some sorta peepin' tom?"

"What?!" Cayde asked, flustered. "No! No, I'm just...helping Kayla find a new set of armour, that's all."

Amanda looked at Kayla. "Hey, hun."

"Hi," Kayla grinned, ducking back behind the screen.

Amanda turned back to Cayde. "While we're both here I wanna talk to you about that gambling debt you owe me."

"Ah, look...Amanda, can we just...I dunno, forget about it?" Cayde said, hand instinctively going to his holstered revolver.

"Nope, Ace of Spades or..."

"I'm not giving you my Ace of Spades," Cayde said, yelping when Amanda took a finger to his chin, lifting it.

"Tsk, tsk, Cayde," Amanda said with a smirk. "Looks like those photos are going around the City network."

"Y-You wouldn't dare!" Cayde stammered.

Amanda merely booped his nose before turning to the door. "I'll come back later, Eva."

Kayla finally stepped out, seeing Cayde flustered and slightly nervous. She was sure that, if he could, he would be blushing.

"You should ask her out," Kayla said.

"W-what?" Cayde asked. "We're just friends, that's all."

"Aww, come on," Kayla said with a laugh. "You like her, that much is clear, and I hear Amanda is a real technophile."

"She just..." Cayde started. "Hey, the Haliaetus II works on you!"

"Nice save, Cayde," Ghost said.

"Shut up!" Cayde said childishly, making a grab for Ghost. "Oh, by the way, Zavala wants to see you."

"Oh?" Kayla asked, leaving the shop. "What about?"

"Something about stopping the Cabal following you," the Exo replied with a shrug. "He wants to hook you with a Titan 'battle couple'. Enjoy!"

Kayla nodded and the pair said their goodbyes, Cayde heading to the hangar to stop Amanda from leaking a lot of compromising photos on the City internet. Although Cayde dodged the question, he mentioned that it involved him, a racoon, a chess piece and a car before dashing off. In the mean time Kayla headed for the Hall of Guardians where Ikora was waiting for her.

"Ah, Kayla," Ikora said warmly. "I've been waiting for you."

"What is it, ma'am?" Kayla asked.

"Please, please, no formalities," Ikora said, taking her to the balcony of the Tower Plaza. "I just wanted to say that...I'm proud of you. You've grown so much in so little time." Ikora chuckled to herself. "I remember when I was a fresh Guardian, it took me a while to get my footing. What I wouldn't give to know then what I know now."

"Oh...um...thank you," Kayla said nervously.

"Don't thank me, it's true! In such a short space of time you've become one of our brightest beacons. Guardians like you keep us on the path, safe from the night. Your survival against the Fallen, the Hive and the Cabal fills me with hope. But..."

"But?"

"I just don't want you to grow overconfident. Or worse. Many a Guardian believed nothing could touch them...and paid the price because of it. Even the Darkness can snuff out the brightest of lights."

"Forgive me, Ikora," Ghost said. "But is this all about?"

Ikora looked over at the Traveller for a moment. "We've discovered something from the eye you acquired. The Vanguard wants to keep it quiet right now, but I believe you have a right to know." Ikora turned to face Kayla. "There are two parts to the Vex plan. One lies in the Black Garden. The other lies in the Vault of Glass."

Kayla felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying...you need to be careful," Ikora said. "Guardians are invincible, but that is not the same thing as immortal. I just wanted to let you know that the Vanguard will call on you to lead this. Be prepared."

Kayla looked over at the Traveller, unsure of what to say. Somehow she knew that her quest would lead her to the Vault of Glass, a thought that had terrified her since she had seen the entrance on Venus. Biting her lip, she looked at Ikora and nodded.

"I'll be ready."

"Good!" Ikora said with a smile. "Now, Zavala is ready to brief you on a new mission."

* * *

" _Kayla, you've done us a favour by taking out Primus Sha'aul. Our scouts on Mars say that the Blind Legion is in disarray but is currently being phased into the command of Valus Ta'aurc. This is where the bad news comes in. As grateful as we are for your efforts in finding the Black Garden, you've forced into a war with the Cabal. So, in response, we'll start by taking out their command._

" _Valus Ta'aurc, command of the Cabal Exclusion Zone. From what I can gather he's holed up in an imperial land tank north of the Rubicon Wastes. He's well protected, but with the right team we can punch through his defences, take this beast out and break the Cabal's grip on Freehold._

" _I'm hooking you up with two of my best Titans, Athena and Artemis. They'll meet you near the Iron Line. Good luck."_

Kayla touched down near the Iron Line. The area was quieter than the earlier and her assault on the base had clearly left an impact. Knowing how Zavala thought Kayla assumed that the Iron Line was ironically the least guarded place now. Kayla stood on a rock, squinting in the early evening night for the sign of her designated fireteam. A flare came from the bottom of the canyon, lighting up the sky.

"I'd say that's them," Ghost said as Kayla made her down.

The night air was bitterly cold and the wind made the coat tails of her new robe waft around her legs. Mars' two moons shone brilliantly in the darkness, guiding Kayla down to where the two Titans were waiting. One of them was stood by a rock, throwing fireballs at the canyon wall. She was in her forties and quite tall for a woman, with bobbed brunette hair and eyes as dark as the midnight sky. She was beautiful if a little hard-faced, of Mediterranean descent and looked like a very experienced fighter.

"Don't exhaust all your Light, Athena," the other Titan said in a thick Greek accent. She had slightly longer, blonde hair with chocolate brown eyes. Her features were softer than the other Titan's, younger by about ten years give or take. She had a warmness about her that her partner, ironically enough, lacked.

"Well I ain't gonna stand here pissin' in the wind, Artemis!" Athena grumbled in a slight Italian accent, turning when she heard a twig snap, instinctively reaching for her sidearm. "Oh, it's just the Warlock..."

"Hi," Kayla said, waving sheepishly.

"I'll 'hi' you in a minute!" Athena growled. "Don't sneak up on us like that!"

"Ignore Athena, she's just grouchy when she meets new people," Artemis chuckled "I'm Artemis, this is my partner, Athena. Striker and Sunbreaker extraordinaires!"

Athena chuckled and shook her head. "You always were the people person."

Kayla looked at the pair and smiled. "A pleasure," she said.

"You're the runt that took down Sha'aul?" Athena asked.

"Yeeeah?" Kayla said slowly.

"Heh, nice work! I have a feelin' we'll get on great then."

Kayla stood there in stunned silence, Artemis looking at the pair. "Yeah, I'm definitely the people person," she said quickly.

"So what's the plan?" Kayla asked.

"Well, while we waited I drew up a plan of attack," Athena said, moving to a small diagram in the sand. "The quickest way to the land tank is through the Trenchworks. Thanks to you we have a clear shot through the Iron Line to get there."

"The only problem we've got is Ta'aurc's lieutenants," Artemis said, walking up to them. "Three Vals. Bou'urc, Ma'aurg, Zu'uarc. They've been roaming around since you left, though it'd be a pretty big wake up call for Ta'aurc if they get killed."

"Do you think it'd be worth it?" Kayla asked.

"Even if Ta'aurc dies command would fall to the three Vals," said Athena's ghost. "We kill two birds with one stone. Metaphorically speaking."

"Thanks, Owl," Athena said, playfully punching the drone.

"Athena, please don't punch me," Owl said, annoyed.

"Well then," Kayla said, standing up. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Athena watched as Kayla turned and strode off to the Iron Line. Artemis walked up to her, kissing her cheek.

"Cheer up," she said. "She's not that bad."

"She's so... _happy_ ," Athena grumbled.

"You'll get used to it," Artemis chuckled. "You got used to me."

"Yeah, I guess," Athena said with a begrudging smile. "One more for luck?"

Artemis giggled, giving Athena a quick kiss before putting on her helmet. "Alright, hun, let's roll out!"

Athena nodded as Artemis sped off on her Sparrow, putting on her helmet and heading off too. The pair met with Kayla at the entrance to the Iron Line, scorch marks and Cabal blood still splattered across the area. The pair still found it hard to believe that such a young Warlock could have caused this, much less the stuff they were picking up from the Cabal comms about their opinions on it.

"Eesh..." Kayla said, turning her nose up. "I forgot what the dead Cabal smelled like."

"You can't be serious..."Athena said.

"Hey, I have reasons, ok?" Kayla snapped. "Don't think I enjoyed doing... _that!_ " she motioned to the large base in front of them.

"Easy, you two, let's just get going, ok?" Artemis said, leading the way.

The trio entered the Iron Line, arriving at the same cavern Kayla had earlier that day. It was protected by a small contingent of Cabal in yellow and blue armour. Artemis motioned for the three to keep to the shadows, sneaking up on a ridge above the Cabal. To Kayla's dismay a Colossus was among them.

"Siege Dancers," Artemis whispered. "Ta'aurc's personal army. Shock troopers."

"I hear they've got all of Freehold under their grasp," Athena said quietly.

"Somehow I don't think we can sneak past them," Kayla said. "I'll can handle the grunts, you two focus on the Colossus."

"I second that option," Athena said, readying her JabberHäkke-D.

"Alright," Artemis, raising her auto rifle. "On my mark. Three. Two. One. Mark!"

The three Guardians jumped from the ledge and began firing on the Cabal. The Cabal scattered at first, moving to cover before firing on the Guardians, panic evident. Kayla rushed a few Psions, taking them down before heading to cut off a Centurion that was moving on the Titans. She quickly Palm Struck it in the gut, knocking the wind out of him, before firing two blasts from her shotgun. The Centurion collapsed leaving the Warlock to focus on the Phalanxes that had gone to blockade the Colossus. Kayla threw a Vortex Grenade into the centre of the group, prompting Athena to laugh and vault one, firing on the Colossus with her pistol.

"Thanks, runt!" Athena laughed as the Colossus launched at her, meeting her punch with its own.

The Colossus roared, brutally punching Athena in the face. The Titan chuckled and backed off, confusing the Titan only for Artemis to plough into the Colossus with a shoulder charge, the sheer force causing the elite Cabal to stumble. Artemis grinned at the beast, a feral glint in her eye as she charged her fists with Arc energy and punched the Cabal in the stomach. The Colossus stumbled again, clutching his stomach in pain, only for Athena to leap down from a raised platform encased in flame. In her hand was a hammer that blazed with fire which she brought down on the Colossus head, smacking it across the face and sending the beast flying across the cannon. The two Titans grinned at each other before leaping off and slamming down on the Colossus with Fist of Havoc and Hammer of Sol respectively, the cavern lighting up in a blaze of fire and lightning.

Kayla stood there, dumbfounded at the sheer show of power the girls gave. "...Holy shit," Kayla said, amazed.

"That was so cool!" Ghost gushed, earning a miffed look from Kayla. "I-I mean...yours is pretty cool too. But Athena has a hammer made of fire!"

"I throw black holes!" Kayla protested with a pout.

"Which is very disturbing if I'm completely honest," Ghost said. "Oh, look! They're back."

"Not gonna lie," Kayla said. "That was awesome."

"Heh, thanks," Athena chuckled. "I aim to please."

"Showoff," Artemis laughed, making Athena grumble again. Artemis laughed again. "You're so easy to wind up, you know that right?"

"Shut up."

"So," Kayla said, Ghost bringing up a map of the area. "Through the tunnel on the left?"

Owl, Athena's ghost flew up to them. "Let me add to this."

The other ghost's eye scanned the map, three marks appearing on it. Kayla assumed these were Valus Ta'aurc's three lieutenants. Owl turned to the three Guardians, blinking slightly before throwing up three profiles on the Vals.

"As you can see all three are Phalanxes," Owl said, his voice smooth with a faint Greek accent. "While that might not be trouble on its own, chances are they'll all have guards of their own. Zu'uarc is the most experienced and will be the toughest to take down. I wouldn't be surprised if he has some sort of trick up his sleeve.

"Next is Bo'ourc. She serves as the scholar and technician for the three and keeps Ta'aurc's recon network up and running. She's a prodigy among the Siege Dancer's spies. I imagine she'll have some sort of trap in place."

"You're talking as though they know they'll be attacked," Kayla said.

"Would that be too surprising? The Cabal know that their weakness is the Iron Line, which has a direct line to the Cerberus Vae III. It makes logical sense for Ta'aurc's lieutenants to be in charge of defence of that pathway, does it not?"

Kayla and Ghost looked at each other. "Can't argue with that," she said. Owl continued.

"Finally there is Ma'aurg. A genius technician but not much of a fighter, he's the most inexperienced. Zu'uarc probably has him as the first line of defence."

"That's pragmatic," Artemis remarked.

"That's war," Athena said flippantly, earning a look from the other two. "What? If the others view Ma'aurg as glorified cannon fodder that's what they'll use him as."

"Regardless I believe we should make our move before we're trapped here," Owl said. "I'm sure the Siege Dancers have sounded the alarm the moment we attacked."

 **(Dam Top- Borderlands 2 OST)**

The fireteam headed off to the leftmost tunnel, Artemis going on ahead. Kayla kept close to Athena, glancing up at the Sunbreaker. She wished small talk was a strong point of hers.

"So..." she started. "How did you and Artemis meet?"

"Hmmm?" Athena said, looking at Kayla. "Why d'you want to know?"

"Just...trying to get to know you..."

"Oh, well...we met at Widow's Court, a tiny outpost in the European Dead Zone. There was just...something special about her," Athena said, a small smile forming. "Everyone there was so dull, but she had so much energy, so much sass. She knew what she wanted, and...to be honest I'm not even sure how we got talking, we just...clicked."

Kayla listened intently, Athena relaxing a little. "She enjoyed Sparrow racing," Athena continued. "I remember the day I asked her out, she said to me: 'If you can beat me to Memento I will'. It took about thirteen tries."

"Haha, she must have really liked you," Kayla chuckled.

"Oh, yeah, turns out she was just doing that to fuck with me a little bit," Athena laughed. "See if I'd quit." The Titan stared at Artemis, smiling. "She's my world."

"Are you getting soppy over there?" Artemis asked, making Athena jump. "You're comms are on."

"N-No!" Athena said, blushing.

"Too late!" Artemis laughed back, rushing off.

"Ugh... _woman!_ " Athena shouted, running after her with Kayla in tow.

Eventually the three came out to another garage at the top of a long canyon. In the distance was the land tank looming over Meridian Bay, almost as tall as the Legion's Keep. Nearby were several Cabal troops patrolling the area and if there was one thing Kayla couldn't fault them on it was their tenacity.

"So what's the plan?" Kayla asked.

"We pick off the lieutenants one by one," Artemis said. "If there's one thing the Cabal like, it's formation. They won't break line if they can't help it."

"Tell me about it," Kayla said dryly.

"We keep the line, kill the Val, push forward, rinse and repeat," Artemis said. "Piece of cake."

"You make it sound so easy," Kayla sighed.

"Don't worry about it," Athena grinned, raising her Suros-PRX. "We got this!"

Athena took off, Artemis shaking her head and charging after her. Kayla followed, keeping on an eye on the Cabal. In the midst of the patrol she could see a Phalanx messing with one of the Cabal hoverbikes. Her HUD tagged him as Val Ma'aurg.

"Ma'aurg's tinkering with a bike," Kayla said over the comms. "Could be a problem."

"Noted," Artemis said. "Athena, can you... _ATHENA!_ "

Artemis watched in disbelief as Athena fired on the Cabal, punching any that got close with flame-covered fists. Kayla could only watch on as Artemis began swearing at her rash partner, covering her with her own Pulse Rifle. Ghost looked at Kayla.

"That could...also be a problem," he said.

"Mmm..." Kayla said, throwing a Vortex Grenade out to defend the two Titans. "I'd hate to see Athena's bad side," she remarked, wincing as Athena literally melted a Cabal's helmet with a punch. "Ouch."

Across the valley Ma'aurg was busy putting the finishing touches to his Interceptor, tinkering with the thrusters under the bike. If the Siege Dancers had a fleet of them as good as these then the Cerberus Vae III would be out of reach to any intruders. Ma'aurg knew his pride bordered arrogance sometimes, not that he cared. He was well aware that Zu'uarc had no patience for him and this way he could prove the old Val wrong.

"Heh, heh, this'll show him!" Ma'aurg chuckled as a Legionary ran up to him.

"Sir!" he announced, saluting.

Ma'aurg pulled himself out from under the Interceptor. "What is it?"

"T-Three Guardians have just started firing at everyone in the canyon!" the Legionary said in a panic, making Ma'aurg's eyes widen in horror." The Witch is among them!"

"The Witch?!" Ma'aurg exclaimed, scanning the canyon for it. "Remember your training, don't let them pass here!"

"B-But Val...!"

"Just buy me some time!"

Ma'aurg went back to his Interceptor, leaving the frustrated Legionary to stomp back up the canyon. From a nearby watchtower Bo'ourc watched intently. The three Guardians were a pleasure to watch, all three exceptionally good in the art of killing and war. How they could shoot lightning and fire out of their hands baffled her but it made for a good show. That is, if they were killing Vex and not Cabal.

"Zu'uarc," Bo'ourc said over the comms. "It's back."

"Don't worry," Zu'uarc said, trying to remain.

"Are you going to stay?" Bo'ourc asked, concerned at the sounds of rapid footsteps she could hear.

"Of course, of course," Zu'uarc replied. "I've got a backup. They won't get past us all."

"Then I trust your judgement, comrade."

Back at the top of the canyon the three Guardians were pushing through the Cabal soldiers with relative ease. Athena threw another Incendiary Grenade at the Cabal, lighting them on fire. As the hurried to stomp out the flames Kayla glided over to them, firing several shotgun shells into their chests.

"Skrub!" Athena said with an almost sadistic laugh, moving off to take out a few Phalanxes.

"Is she always like that?" Kayla asked the Striker.

"You get used to it," Artemis chuckled, covering her partner with gunfire. "'Nade out!"

Artemis chucked a Lightning Grenade at a squad of Cabal Legionnaires, Arc energy dancing over the sand and lashing out at them. Kayla took the opportunity to take them down with her PRI, leading the fireteam closer to their target. They could see a Cabal Phalanx nearby, messing with one of the Cabal's hoverbikes. When he spotted the trio he quickly mounted the bike and sped off towards them.

"Take cover!" Kayla yelled, narrowly avoiding the bike.

Artemis dodged as well, diving into the sand. "Huh? _Athena, move!_ " she screamed.

Athena turned from the Cabal she was shooting, dropping her gun and holding her arms out. The Interceptor ploughed into her, Athena grappling the sides and lifting it up slightly. The Phalanx could only sit in shock as Athena spun the bike around, throwing it into the wall, the bike exploding on impact.

Artemis ran up to Athena, leaving Kayla to deal with the Val. The Warlock ran to the wreckage, watching the Phalanx crawl out from under it. Val Ma'aurg reached for his gun but Kayla kicked it away from him. Ma'aurg looked up at her, face seething with anger. The Val grabbed Kayla's ankle, yanking her leg out and causing her to fall. Kayla reached for her Matador, firing a shell into his chest as he tried to punch her. The Cabal slumped on her, dead. Kayla grunted, shoving the Phalanx off her with all her strength before rushing over to the two Titans.

"You...you...idiot!" Artemis screamed, slapping Athena on the arm. "You know I hate it when you do stuff like that!"

"I was going to die," Athena shrugged.

"You could have _dodged!_ "

"Look, I'm fine aren't I?"

Artemis huffed. "Fine, just...don't do anything like that again."

Athena only grinned childishly.

"I killed Ma'aurg if anyone's interested?" Kayla asked.

"Good...that's good," Artemis said, collecting her thoughts. "We push down the canyon, don't let any of them retake ground."

"On it," Kayla said, heading down the canyon.

Further ahead was a watch tower and what looked to be a make shift camp. The squad of Cabal were all positioned at the base of the tower, armed and waiting. At the top of the tower was another Phalanx that Ghost tagged as Val Bo'ourc.

"Guardians!" she announced. "You will not leave this canyon alive."

Kayla looked at the two cocky canyons then stepped forward. "Um...I took a barrage of missiles to the face, and I'm still fine," Kayla said. "Are you sure you shouldn't just...retreat?"

The Cabal all shifted in confusion. Bo'ourc's eyes narrowed at them. "What are you asking, what is this 'retreat'?"

"...Run away?"

Bo'ourc aimed at them. "The Empire does not 'run away'."

Kayla sighed. "Suit yourself."

The three Guardians exchanged gunfire with the Cabal, ducking behind the walls to avoid getting hit. Kayla peeked out, trying to pop as many heads as possible with her PRI. While Athena kept the Cabal distracted Artemis slid over to Kayla.

"I'm going to flank them," she said. "Athena's got the troop distracted, I need you to focus Bo'ourc's attention on you."

"Gotcha," Kayla said, switching to her Nihilist.

"Be careful," Artemis said sternly before skulking off to the canyon wall.

With Athena handling the troops Kayla opened fire on the Val's shield. Bo'ourc glared at Kayla and fired down on the Warlock with her Slug Rifle. Kayla ducked again, firing while Bo'ourc reloaded. Bo'ourc growled in frustration as the Slug Rifle was shot out of her hand, the gun falling off the tower.

"You won't get the best of me, Witch!" she shouted angrily, pulling out a Projection Rifle and redoubling her efforts.

"We'll see about that," Kayla muttered, throwing a Vortex Grenade at the tower's window.

Bo'ourc looked at the swirling vortex to her left. "Poor aim, Witch!" she laughed.

"I wasn't aim at you," Kayla said with a smirk.

Bo'ourc stared at Kayla in disbelief only to get lanced by rounds fired from Artemis' fusion rifle. Bo'ourc stumbled, throwing up her shield in defence. However she ended up backing into the vortex, the Void Light eating away at her skin and armour. Bo'ourc grunted, refusing to show the weakness of pain. The Val charged at Artemis with her shield, but the Striker grabbed the shield and yanked it into the wall, stunning the Val and allowing the Titan to end her with a headshot. Finally Artemis pulled out her rocket launcher and fired at the troops below, killing them in one swift motion.

"Two down," Artemis announced. "Zu'uarc's tag is just up ahead."

The fireteam rushed to the ridge, following Zu'uarc's tag, only to skid to a halt when they saw what awaited them in the plateau.

" _They have a tank?!_ " Kayla exclaimed.

The tank was exceptionally large, and as grey and bulky as the Cabal themselves, powered by four thrusters and had a large turret on the top that was trained on them. A loud voice boomed over the tannoy.

"Damn creatures!" Zu'uarc boomed. "Ma'aurg and Bo'ourc may have fallen but I won't!"

Kayla's face fell as Zu'uarc fired off several homing rockets. The team jumped down into the plateau and began to circle the tank, the turret currently trained on Artemis. The Striker dived to avoid the round, firing on the tank with her rocket launcher. The force of the impact caused the tank to shake but Zu'uarc ignored the damage, instead focusing on Athena. While the Sunbreaker distracted the Zu'uarc Kayla opened fire on one of the thrusters with her Nihilist while Artemis did the same with her rocket launcher.

Zu'uarc let out more missiles, causing the team to scatter. Kayla glided upwards, hoping to gain a better shot but was soon taken down by flak rounds from the tanks anti air system.

"You ok?" Artemis asked, rushing to help her.

"Yeah," Kayla replied, shrugging off the injuries and looking down at her new outfit. "I just got this too!"

"Focus, runt!" Athena shouted, jumping up on the tank and punching it repeatedly.

"Ignorant rat!" Zu'uarc growled, turning the tank sharply.

Athena fell off, rolling to avoid it, and then fired on the tank with her PRX. Artemis and Kayla backed her up with their rifles but Zu'uarc fired at the pair with his turret, forcing them to split up. Kayla dove for cover behind a rock while Artemis powered up to the tank and rammed into the vehicle with a powerful electrified shoulder charge.

The tank jolted slightly, rocking from the sheer force of the attack. Athena joined in, grabbing one of the thrusters in an attempt to rip it off.

"Classic Titan behaviour," Kayla remarked, firing at the tank with her Nihilist.

" _Give it up!_ " Zu'uarc shouted in a vicious rage

The tank moved, shaking Athena off. Zu'uarc angled to a better position and firing more homing missiles at the team as it did so. Kayla dove into the sand, watching as Athena fired on the tank with her Bonekruscher machine gun. Artemis moved up to her, firing on the tank with her Fusion Rifle. Kayla scrambled to her feet, running up to the tank and gliding upwards before launching a powerful Nova Bomb on the tank. From up high she could see Zu'uarc scramble out of the vehicle as the Nova Bomb made contact, the tank exploding violently and throwing everyone backwards.

 **(End 'Dam Top')**

Kayla rolled in the sand as shrapnel and flaming chunks of metal landed everywhere around them. Beside her was Athena, her armour cracked from a shard of metal that had embedded itself in there. Slowly she stood up, looking around frantically for Artemis.

"One more step and it dies!" Zu'uarc boomed.

The pair turned to see the Phalanx, armour broken, holding Artemis by the hair with a gun to her head. Athena immediately raised her JabberHäkke at Zu'uarc, who pushed the gun closer. "I'm warning you," he growled. "Now we bargain."

"I'm just supposed to let you hold my partner hostage?!" Athena shouted, eyes filled with fury.

"If you want her to live, yes," Zu'uarc said calmly.

Athena stepped forward but Zu'uarc immediately fired into her kneecap, blood splurting everywhere as Artemis screamed in pain. Athena shook with rage. "I'll kill you..." she growled, fire rippling out of her body. " _I'll fuckin' kill you!_ "

Kayla stepped in front of Athena. "Athena, don't do anything rash!"

"Don't tell me what to do, you runt!" Athena said, throwing Kayla to the ground.

"Athena, listen to her!" Artemis shouted as Zu'uarc put barrel of his gun under her chin.

"Let's see blowing its brains out will kill it," Zu'uarc chuckled.

Kayla watched on as Athena matched up to Zu'uarc. Suddenly a single sniper shot rang through the air. Silence fell as everyone stood in shook, Athena looking around frantically. Slowly Zu'uarc keeled over, blood pouring out of his skull. Artemis breathed a sigh of relief as her ghost heeled her knee, Athena rushing to her and bear hugging her into the ground.

"Thank God..." Kayla said, breathing a sigh of relief.

From out of nowhere the wind picked up, swirling around the plateau, a ripple forming in the air as fog emanated from it. Out of the ripple stepped a familiar sight: an Exo with a futuristic rifle holstered on her back. In her was an Golden Age looking sniper rifle covered in camo paint and netting. Athena immediately aimed her pistol at the visitor, the female Exo glancing at her with mild curiosity.

"No, wait!" Kayla said, running up to the Exo. "Athena, it's alright. She's a friend."

The Exo looked a little worse for wear and she had a fear in her eyes that wasn't there before. Slowly she pulled down her hood and smiled at Kayla.

"Hello, stranger," the Exo said.

* * *

 **NEXT TIME:** The gang come face to face with Valus Ta'aurc in **Chapter 1-23: Siege Dancer**


	23. 1-23) Siege Dancer

**A/N:** No this isn't a false upload, this a merging of the previous two chapters, to be read as they were intended to be.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ and _Destiny 2_ are owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only own Kayla and other OCS. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 04:** Fruit of the Garden

 **Chapter 023:** Siege Dancer

 **DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF VALIANT BRENNAN**

 **1941-2017**

 _ **Mars**_

 _ **Trenchworks**_

"How long has it been since our last meeting?" the Stranger asked.

"About a week," Kayla replied. "What about you?"

"A month or so," the Stranger said, looking down at the sand. "Not counting the time on Mars."

Kayla had managed to convince Athena to not murder her time-travelling associate after a five minute scuffle between the pair and had brought the Stranger to a nearby rock to talk. Something was off about the Stranger in the way she carried herself though. The aloof mystery that she had always carried, or at least tried to, with her was gone. Now she looked vulnerable and alone.

"I never asked, do you have a name?" Kayla asked.

"Iris," the Stranger replied. "Iris-1."

"One?"

Iris looked at Kayla, fumbling for an answer as though she was internally debating. Finally she sighed. "Fuck it..." she muttered. "You made me."

"...I'm sorry?" Kayla asked, astonished.

"In the future," Iris said. "You made me. Jury-rigged me with Vex tech in an effort to combat them."

"That's how you can time travel," Kayla said, Iris nodding in response. Kayla chuckled, chuffed with herself. "Wow, I'm good. How am I doing, or is it one of those step on a butterfly things?"

Iris looked at the ground, picking up the sand. "Time..." she said sadly, letting it flow through her fingers. "It runs out on everyone in the end..."

Kayla's eyes narrowed. Something was wrong. "What happened?"

Iris said nothing and Kayla pressed further. "Iris, tell me what happens? What happens in the future?"

Iris looked away from Kayla, hiding her tears. Kayla spoke again, frustrated and annoyed. "Iris, tell me!"

"You ok over there, runt?" Athena asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Kayla shouted back, kneeling before Iris. "Look. I've been pissed about with this whole Vex mess since you spoke to me on the Moon. I'm risking my life for you so just once I want to know what will happen, where we're headed if I fail."

Iris glanced at Kayla then swallowed, wiping her eyes. "In my timeline the Vex overran Earth. The City burned as the war machines marched on, turning our green home into a cold metal husk. We fled to the stars. But even they turned against us."

"What. Happened?" Kayla stressed.

"Atheon," Iris said, sending shivers down Kayla's spine. "Atheon happened. He outfitted the Vex in the Black Garden with ontological weaponry, weapons that can literally decide whether or not you exist." Iris swore quietly, pounding the rock in frustration. "You led us...tried to find a way to stop them. Eventually we discovered two causes."

"The Black Garden and the Vault of Glass," Kayla said.

Iris nodded in response. "The Sol Progeny in the Garden provides the muscle, Atheon provided the tech. But we were too late." Iris looked at Kayla, her eyes...distant. "Their Oracles started to wipe everything out."

"And me?"

"You won't like it."

"Tell me!" Kayla demanded.

"Take a wild fucking guess, Kayla!" Iris snapped back. Silence followed before Iris sighed. "I'm sorry. Before...before...it happened you...you tossed me through a Vex portal. I was stranded here."

Kayla gently hugged Iris as the Exo began to cry. "They're all gone," Iris sobbed. "My friends...my home...they don't even exist anymore!"

"It'll be alright," Kayla said softly. "I'll fix it."

"But that's the point!" Iris shouted. "This is an alternate timeline, one where my friends don't die...one where I'm never made. I don't even belong here."

Iris exhaled slowly, composing herself. "You, future you...gave me one task. I figured before I do it I'd see you through to the end. How goes the Black Garden mission?"

"We've got the means," Kayla replied. "There's just a few loose ends to tie up first."

"Good!" Iris smiled. "That's great news. I'm sure you know what lies after?"

"Unfortunately..." Kayla said.

"Enter the Vault of Glass and kill Atheon," Iris said, face grim with determination. "Only then will your world be safe. Hopefully mine will be reset too."

Kayla nodded. "I promise."

"Thank you," Iris said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I'll see you again soon. For now I need to track someone down."

"Always mysterious," Kayla grinned.

"Always," Iris said, saluting her. "Ma'am."

"Ah, Iris, really?" Kayla groaned.

"No, please..." Iris said quietly. "I never got to do this. With my version of you."

Kayla looked at the Exo before giving a salute back. "Stay safe, Iris."

Iris nodded then turned, disappearing in a swirl of fog. Kayla waited a few moments then headed back to the other two, mind reeling.

"All sorted?" Artemis asked.

"If I ever see another time traveller, it'll be too soon," Kayla said.

"Ah, the usual then?" the Striker laughed.

"Seriously, weird shit just seems to follow me!" Kayla grumbled.

"How about we go get Ta'aurc?"

"An excellent idea!" Kayla said, mounting her Sparrow.

The trio sped off, heading down the canyon unopposed. Kayla thought hard about what Iris had said. She didn't even want to entertain her fate in Iris' timeline, the thought made her sick to her stomach. If that was what awaited them then the Vex had to be stopped, now more than ever, and Kayla was now ever conscious of the ticking clock that she was up against.

One thing that baffled Kayla was the Vex's apparent refusal to just outpace the Guardians anyway. Being the hyper-intelligent hive mind that they were Kayla assumed the Vex could have stopped the City from ever being built. By the sounds of it that's what these 'Oracles' did but why had it taken them so long to create them?

"Hey, runt!" Athena shouted over the hum of the Sparrow engines. "You ok?"

"Huh? Oh...yeah, I'm fine," Kayla replied, her mind a little distant.

"That's some major 'Chosen One' shit you're in," Athena said.

"What do you mean?"

"The whole Tower knows, Kayla," Artemis said, swerving to avoid a rock. "Word travels fast. You pull it off though and you'll be right up there with Saint-14 and Rezyl Azzir."

"Haha, no pressure then," Kayla laughed.

"Exactly!" Artemis grinned.

The fireteam rounded one last corner, stopping in a small alcove as the land tank came into view, looming over the area like a malevolent beast. Floodlights dotted the pathway, broken up by the occasional night time patrol of the Cabal.

"Oh, great, more space turtles!" Kayla grumbled, shivering in the cold.

"This could be trouble," Artemis mused, eying a pathway up to the tank. "We don't want to risk them raising an alarm, especially here."

"So we sneak?" Kayla asked.

"Yeah," Artemis nodded. "We dodge the patrols and move around the floodlights, and we will avoid conflict, won't we Athena?"

"Yes, dear," the Sunbreaker grumbled.

"Good," Artemis said sweetly, turning back to Kayla. "Don't take floodlights out. They may be brutes but they're not stupid. On my mark."

The other two Guardians readied themselves, Artemis taking point.

"Mark!"

* * *

 _ **Cerberus Vae III**_

 _ **Control Room**_

Ta'aurc sat on his armchair, overseeing the Psions and the Legionnaires as they trawled through the footage of the attack on the Iron Line. The creature, 'Kayla Ashcroft', was intriguing to say the least. Small, physically frail, poor armour and outdated tech and yet she managed to punch a hole in the Blind Legion's defences and killed their Primus.

"Oh, Sha'aul," Ta'aurc lamented as he watched his closest friend get murdered by this creature. "What the hell did you get yourself into?"

Ta'aurc leaned in, try to find something that could give away this creature's motives. It was evidently after the Spire, that much was clear, and it had something to do with the machines or 'Vex' as Kayla Ashcroft called them.

'I'm Kayla Ashcroft. I'm a Guardian from the Last City on Earth. I'm three-hundred and twenty years old, and I'm the woman who's going to stop the Vex and save every race in this system. You got a problem with that?'

"Hmmm..." the Valus mused as he watched the footage. "These 'Guardians'...what do we know of them?"

"They seem to be a collective of three different species," one of the Psions replied. "Bipedal, warm blooded, ape-like, though one of them appears to be entirely mechanical. Kayla Ashcroft's mention of 'Earth' appears to be the local name for Sol-3, the next planet over and seems to be where the Guardians are based."

"Any idiot could have told you that!" Ta'aurc snapped. "Anything useful?"

"Well, the footage shows Kayla Ashcroft using some sort of strange energy," the Psion said, bring up screenshots for Ta'aurc to see. "Video footage from our scouts on the other planetoids in the system seems to prove that this is a universal trait of Guardians, though they all wield it differently."

"And what else?"

"They won't die," the Psion said, turning to face his commander. "I'm sorry, Valus, but the Guardians can survive total disintegrative trauma. We've yet to discover how."

"Troubling," Ta'aurc said, leaning back. "Maybe Sha'aul can guide us."

Suddenly alarms blared across the base, Ta'aurc looking up in concern. An intruder, maybe? But how? He had heard nothing from the Vals for a while either. Could he have overlooked the Guardians' strength?

"Show me!" he demanded.

The Psions pulled up security footage of the cargo hold of the Cerberus Vae III, showing three Guardians running through, killing anyone that stood in their way. Among them was Kayla Ashcroft, the Witch. Ta'aurc made a grab for his oversized Heavy Slug Thrower.

"Lock the base down and lead them to the garage!" he ordered. "Do not let them leave this ship!"

"S-Sir, where are you going?" a Psion asked fearfully.

"To handle this myself!"

The three Guardians powered through the hangar of the gargantuan land tank, mowing down any Cabal that stood in their way. Athena led the charge, smacking aside three Phalanxes with her Hammer of Sol, Artemis picking up one of the shields and throwing it at a small squad of Legionnaires. They collapsed as the large slab of metal made contact with their faces, the shield landing behind them with a metallic clang. Kayla leaped over the chaos, firing at the Centurion leading them with her PRI-45. The Cabal officer grunted in pain, charging Kayla and aiming a punch. The Warlock ducked and smacked it with a Energy Drain making the Centurion collapse as the Void ate away at its open wound. Kayla switched to her Matador and fired it in the back of the Cabal, killing it.

The three then made for the door to the next room, a large contingent of Cabal stomping towards them. The two Titans grabbed the doors and began to push them shut as the Cabal opened fire on them. Kayla slid to a nearby console, throwing up Ghost.

"Be quick Ghost!" Kayla said as she opened fire on the soldiers.

"I'm going as fast as I can, Kayla, don't rush me!" Ghost protested as he hacked the console.

"Can you hear that, honey?" Artemis asked as the sound of a gatling gun starting up filled the room.

"Yeah," Athena replied, poking her head out. "Almost sounds like..."

The Sunbreaker quickly pulled her head back as a Colossus opened fire on them. " _Kayla, ,tell your ghost to fucking hurry up!_ " Athena yelled.

" _Ghost!_ " Kayla screamed as she ducked for cover.

"Working on it!" Ghost snapped. "There!"

The doors quickly snapped shut, causing the two Titans to stumble. Kayla cautiously made got up, the sound of bullets ricocheting off the door still unnerving her. "You two ok?" she asked.

" _Mi sento come una bella brezza estiva,_ " Athena said dryly, shaking her head. "Sorry, yeah, I'm fine."

Kayla nodded, then looked at the Striker. "Artemis?"

"All clear over here," Artemis replied, standing up. "Got a little hairy there haha."

"I have some knowledge for your attention," said Owl, Athena's Ghost. "Ta'aurc has been noted to be moving towards us. I suggest heading to the garage to face him."

The three Guardians cautiously looked at each other before heading through to the next room. After heading down a corridor the trio came out in an absurdly spacious room. It was empty, but filled with the telltale signs of the Goliath tanks the Cabal used, plus several fuel canisters and storage boxes. The back of the room was dominated by a large door and the only sound that could be heard were the whirrings of the inner workings of the land tank. The fact that there were no Cabal and that the alarms had been silenced made Kayla uneasy.

"I don't like this," Kayla said.

"Neither do I..." Artemis said, glancing at Athena. "Owl, are you certain he's here."

"Oh, yes, quite certain," Owl said simply.

Before the three girls could say anything the door at the back slowly slid open. Out of the gloom loomed the shadow of a giant Colossus. Out stomped Valus Ta'aurc, the ground shaking with every step. He was clad in thick, clunky green armour, a huge banner on his back bearing the symbol of the Siege Dancers. In his hands was a large Heavy Slug Thrower, large even for the Cabal.

"See?" Owl said.

"Don't sass me, Owl," Athena growled.

"So the murderer of Sha'aul stands before me!" Ta'aurc boomed, making Kayla jump. "Well go on, speak! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"U-Um...in my defence, I did offer a truce," Kayla said timidly.

"And yet you had no qualms in killing him with those _unnatural_ powers of yours!" Ta'aurc roared. "And your soldiers! They throw fire and lightning around so casually! Your kind are an abomination! What do you have to say for yourself, Witch?!"

"Hey! That's Warlock!" Kayla shouted, offended.

"Time and place," Ghost whispered over the comms.

"Look, Commander..." Kayla said, sighing. "Ta'aurc. I don't _want_ to fight you. I'm a doctor, first for most." Kayla ignored the Valus' scoff. "But there are worse things for us out there than the Cabal, and there are worse things for _you_ than us."

Ta'aurc's eyes narrowed. "What are you proposing? A truce?"

"Yes! Look, I know the Cabal are slightly bewildered by everything that's going on in the system," Kayla said. "And believe me I have no idea what the fuck's going on either. We could team up? Cabal and the City?"

"Cabal do not associate with lesser creatures," Ta'aurc growled. "We conquer, we command. We take! It is the only way!"

"Oh, so that's what's stopping you?" Kayla glared. " _Pride?_ "

 **(Cabal Stomp- Destiny OST)**

"Oh, no," Ta'aurc chuckled. "No, no, no. You murdered my friend! My brother in arms! I'm not doing this for the empire!" the Valus roared, firing off his gun in the air, the cracking of explosions rocking the tank. Then he glared at Kayla, his voice low and dripping with malice. "I'm doing this for me."

 **VALUS TA'AURC**

 **COMMANDER OF THE SIEGE DANCERS**

Ta'aurc stayed by the door, firing on the Guardians with his oversized slug thrower, the giant bullets ricocheting off the walls. The three Guardians took to cover, firing on the oversized Colossus with impunity. Kayla watched from her hiding spot as Ta'aurc's weapon battered the crates the two Titans were behind, the force of the shots shaking them backwards.

Athena pointed her Bonekruscher over the crate and fired on the Cabal commander. Ta'aurc laughed as he stood and took the shots, shocking Kayla. The Valus started to move closer, pinning the girls in one place. Kayla peeked over and fired her Nihilist at the Valus, managing to nail a few shots in his armour's weak point.

Ta'aurc flinched, then turned his attention to Kayla. The Warlock yelped and ducked as the Cabal fired on Kayla. From the corner of her eye she could see Artemis slowly sneaking her way to the raised platform above her.

"What are you doing?" Kayla hissed into her comms.

"Getting ready for a Fist of Havoc," Artemis replied. "Athena, distract Ta'aurc so Kayla can escape."

"On it!" Athena replied, running out and firing with her PRX.

With Ta'aurc distracted Kayla ran out from behind the crates, unleashing a hail of bullets with her Nihilist. The Colossus stomped in rage, rushing forward to them as he launched a volley of missiles at the two Guardians.

"Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" Kayla shouted as the missiles bombarded the floor around her, running for her life as Ta'aurc opened fire.

Athena stood in place as the missiles rained down around her, firing at Ta'aurc's head with her Jabberhäkke. Ta'aurc glanced at the Titan, turning his gun towards her only to get smacked in the face by Artemis' Fist of Havoc. Stunned, Ta'aurc stumbled slightly as he reeled from the punch. Artemis charged up to him, surging like lightning and hit him again square in the jaw.

Ta'aurc lashed out, swatting Artemis away like a fly. The Striker landed on the floor, the clanging of armour ringing throughout the room. Ta'aurc watched intently as her ghost healed her before reloading his gun.

"Interesting..." Ta'aurc murmured. "It seems you 'Guardians' have differing abilities depending on your rank as it were."

"I thought Cabal were meant to be stupid?" Ghost whispered to Kayla.

"Guess not," Kayla shrugged, firing on Ta'aurc again with her PRI, face falling as Ta'aurc walked it off. "Holy fuck-knuckles, it's not doing anything..."

Ta'aurc roared again, firing off more missiles at the Guardians. Artemis rushed off, grabbing Kayla and Athena before jumping out of the missiles' path. Artemis set the pair down, Athena firing on Ta'aurc with her Bonekruscher again.

"Goddamn it!" she shouted, stomping the ground in frustration.

"You'll have to do better than that, Guardians!" Ta'aurc laughed as he fired up his gatling gun again.

The trio ducked, huddling behind a beam as the bullets ricocheted off the walls and floor.

"Alright, team talk," Artemis said over the roar of gunfire.

"I don't think he's going down anytime soon," Kayla said worriedly.

"Can't you use your Nova Bomb?" Athena asked.

"I mean I could, but it's kind of hard when the guy _fires rockets at your face!_ "

"We could circle him, divide his attention," Artemis said calmly. "Athena, if you could run rings around him with your Hammer of Sol then Kayla can probably have enough height here to get the full impact from her bomb."

"We still need to get down," Athena said as Ta'aurc fired off another volley of missiles.

"Did I mention the rockets?!" Kayla shouted. "They really hurt!"

"Grenade spam?" Artemis suggested with a shrug.

"Good enough, on three!"

The trio threw their grenades down, flashes of lightning, fire and the hum of the Void surrounded Ta'aurc causing him to stumble as the combination of elements burned away at him. A loud clang caught his ear, causing his head to snap upwards only to be smacked down by Athena's Hammer of Sol.

"How's that you fat _bastardo?_ " Athena laughed, running around and launching her hammer at the Colossus, fiery explosions lighting up the room trapping Ta'aurc in the centre.

From above Kayla launched herself, an orb of swirling Void energy in her palm. With Ta'aurc sufficiently distracted Kayla threw a mighty Nova Bomb at Ta'aurc, a loud _krakoom_ rocking the land tank. Ta'aurc roared in pain, thrashing around at the newly acquired wound on his shoulder, growling in anger. Kayla landed nearby, glancing at Ta'aurc. He looked ragged and worn out from the bombardment of Supers, the young Warlock relieved at the sight of Ta'aurc stumbling.

"Good work, Kayla!" Artemis shouted.

"Nice!" Athena cheered.

Ta'aurc roared in rage. " _Soldiers!_ "

The side doors opened and several Psions flooded the room. Athena and Kayla quickly switched their attention to the new Cabal fighters, the Titan popping heads with her Jabberhäkke and Kayla mowing them down with her Matador. Ta'aurc staggered slightly, picking up his gun and aiming it at the pair only to be struck by a Lightning Grenade from behind. The Colossus turned angrily, finding Artemis grinning at him.

"You lose, big guy," she said, cracking her knuckles as they sparked with lightning.

Ta'aurc watched in horror as Artemis launched another Fist of Havoc. " _I will not lose!_ " he shouted, launching another volley of missiles at her, the Titan taking the full brunt of the attack.

Artemis landed in a mess of blood, sparking, her legs twisted at awkward angles. Ta'aurc picked up his gun, laughed once, and then stomped towards her. Kayla turned, gasping in shock as she saw Ta'aurc advance to Artemis.

Kayla finished off the Psions and quickly glided up to Ta'aurc, but the Colossus smacked her against the wall. Kayla screamed in pain as she felt something in her leg snap. "Damn it!" she shouted, holding her leg as she landed on the steel floor. Ta'aurc chuckled as he watched Artemis crawl away.

"Now then, let's see what Sha'aul was theorising..."

Ta'aurc caught Artemis beneath his giant boot, pinning her to the crowd as he held up her ghost. Artemis looked up at him in fear, knowing what he was about to do. Kayla watched on, unable to move while Ghost healed her broken leg. At the other end of the room she could see Athena fending off Ta'aurc's soldiers, unable to do anything.

"Ghost, hurry up!" Kayla shouted frantically.

"I'm going as fast as I can, Kayla!" Ghost snapped, equally worried.

Ta'aurc meanwhile held up the trembling ghost in his hand. "From the footage I obtained from the Blind Legion I deduce that this little drone is what keeps you alive. I wonder if you can come back without it," then a sadistic smile formed on his face. "Let's test it, shall we?"

Artemis' face fell as Ta'aurc crushed her ghost with his fist. Kayla tried to stand up, stumbling on her injured leg and yelling in pain. Athena killed the final Psion, turning to see her partner helpless under Ta'aurc's boot. The fear in Artemis' eyes was haunting as Ta'aurc put the full weight of his foot on her chest, her body jolting with a sicken crunch.

 **(End 'Cabal Stomp')**  
" _NO!_ " Athena screamed, watching in horror as blood pooled under her.

"Oh my god...!" Kayla gasped as she and Ghost looked on in shock. The Warlock turned to Athena. "I-I'm sorry, I tried to...it all happened so fast!"

Kayla watched as Athena's body shook with rage. The Sunbreaker's gaze was focused on Artemis' lifeless body. Ta'aurc turned, wiping his boot on the floor in disgust. Athena visibly flinched. Then he aimed at Athena.

"Ghost, can't you heal her?" Kayla asked.

"Each ghost is genetically locked to their Guardian," Ghost replied grimly. "I can only heal you..."

Ghost trailed off as he watched Athena's body become encased in flames. Athena glared at Ta'aurc, eyes practically glowing with white hot fury, her whole body shaking as she summoned her Hammer of Sol.

Ta'aurc chuckled and fired at the Sunbreaker, but the enraged Titan sped off down hall and barrelled into the giant Colossus, slamming her hammer into his gut.. Ta'aurc dropped his gun in shock as the hammer lodged itself in place, roaring with pain as the flames coursed through his body. With an almighty scream Athena ripped the hammer from him and struck him again in the chest, his armour melting on impact. With an angry shout Athena leaped on Ta'aurc, pushing him down and smashing the hammer repeatedly on the Cabal's face.

" _Figlio di cagna!"_ Athena roared, tears streaming down her face. " _Ti uccido per quello che hai fatto! Era tutto per me! Ti ucciderò! Ti uccido!_ " Athena fell with the Valus, the Cabal's body jerking badly with every hit." _Spero a Dio di soffrire di più nell'inferno! Bastardo! Hai quello che hai meritato! Tu.._. _Tu...!_ "

Kayla watched as Athena kept smashing her hammer down on Ta'aurc's already dead body. She staggered up to her, managing to pull the Titan off.

"Athena!" she said. "Athena, he's dead! Now let's just..."

The next thing Kayla felt was a stinging sensation and the coldness of the land tank's floor.

" _You should have stopped him!_ " Athena sobbed.

"Athena, please..." Kayla said, standing up.

"Get away from me!" Athena shouted, running up and cradling Artemis, squeezing her cold hand. " _Mi dispiace...mi dispiace molto..._ "

* * *

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **Last City**_

 _ **Tower**_

"...And that's basically what happened..." Kayla said, standing over the table in the Tower's morgue.

"I see..." Zavala sighed, rubbing his brow in frustration. This was another good Titan the City had lost and each one was a loss the Vanguard Commander took personally. Although a part of him felt guilty for feeling this loss deeper than a Warlock or a Hunter's as the Titan Vanguard he felt it was his duty to look after each Titan under his wing, much like Shaxx felt it his duty to ensure all Crucible teams were winners.

"Commander?" Kayla asked, glancing down at Artemis' body.

"Sorry, I was..." Zavala apologised, sighing again as he covered Artemis' face with the blanket. "You've done well eliminating Ta'aurc. You are dismissed."

Kayla nodded and left swiftly, heading down into the City in a bid to find Athena. It took a while of strolling through the City's many bars and pubs but eventually Kayla found Athena in an out of the way pub in the downtown district.

"I feel very uncomfortable right now..." Ghost said quiet as Kayla stepped into the building, the various gang members and roughnecks all turning to stare at her.

"Oi! Guardian!" the bartender called.

Kayla looked around then pointed to herself.

"Yeah, you!" the man growled. "You friends with that meatball in the corner?"

"If you mean Athena, then yes," Kayla said sternly, eying the man.

"If you can do me a favour and drag her arse outta here, that'd be great."

"And why would I do that?" Kayla asked, squaring up to the man.

The man pointed at an injured patron on the other side of the room. "I don't like people who pick fights with my customers."

"She just lost her partner," Kayla said quietly.

The bartender sighed. "Look, I get bein' a Guardian is hard work but I need to look after my regulars, and when I have some superpowered freak kicking the crap outta them, it's not helpful!"

Kayla glanced over to Athena. She looked tired and was obviously too drunk for her own good. Kayla looked at Ghost who nodded a little, then went over to her. Athena glanced at the Warlock and scoffed moving her bottle and shuffling her bar stool up.

"So this is what you're doing?" Kayla asked, sitting down next to the Titan.

"You got a better idea?" Athena slurred, her accent heavier than usual.

"Drinking won't help, it'll only make you feel worse."

"Oh, and you know so much about this, do you?" Athena growled. " _Stupida cagna_."

"My grandma died and Grandpa drank the rest of his life away, so yeah, I think I do."

"I'm a Guardian, I can't die," Athena spat. Kayla scoffed, annoyed, enraging Athena. "What's so funny?! Ya think you can come in here and tell me what to do?! Huh?! _Attaccato, cagna pazza!_ You know her for one mission and suddenly you think you can advise me on how to spend my time."

"I know that Artemis wouldn't want you to waste your time getting drunk and wallowing in self-pity!" Kayla shouted.

Athena growled and punched Kayla with a flame-covered fist, flooring her. The bartender moved in but Kayla held up her hand before standing up. "You're right I only knew her for one mission. But I only needed one to know how much she meant to you."

"So what?" Athena snarled. "You some psychiatrist now?"

' _Don't tempt me,_ ' Kayla thought. "It hurts. Believe me, I know it hurts. It's a pain that you would never think you would feel and it stays with you forever. But do you really think wasting your days drinking is going to solve anything? It won't bring her back."

"Maybe not," Athena grumbled, sitting back down. "But it'd make me forget..."

"Maybe, but do you really want to forget someone like her?" Kayla asked, sitting next to her. "All the happy times?"

Athena stared at her bottle, then glanced at Kayla. Finally she pulled something out of her back pocket and held it in her hand. It was a platinum ring encrusted in diamonds. Kayla felt her heart sink, a small gasp escaping her.

"Suppose this is useless now..." Athena said bitterly. "Might as well sell it."

"Don't!" Kayla said quickly, earning a curious look from Athena. "Hold it on to it. The pain doesn't go away but you will learn to live with it."

Athena sighed, looking at her purse. "I suppose you're right...Ah, shit I'm broke..."

Kayla looked at the bartender, his eye twitching in tranquil fury as he overheard the conversation.

"Have it on me," Kayla chuckled, pulling out several blocks of Glimmer.

Athena looked at her then rested her head on the bar. " _Grazie_ , Kayla."

* * *

 **NEXT TIME:** A Vex resurgence in Freehold comes to the Vanguard's attention in **Chapter 1-24: Freehold**


	24. 1-24) Freehold

**A/N:** Four more chapters left of this arc. I can't promise that we'll be at the Vault anytime soon, but I aim to be started the raid arc around early 2018.

Also, over 8000 hits *squeeeee*

Also, also: when this chapter goes up the previous two will be merged into one chapter as they were intended to be.

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ and _Destiny 2_ are owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only own Kayla and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc: 04:** Fruit of the Garden

 **Chapter 025:** Freehold

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **The Last City**_

 _ **Tower**_

A few days had passed since the Cerberus Vae strike and Kayla was sat in the Tower's gardens thinking about what had happened. She had only known Artemis for a small while but she couldn't help feeling like she could have done more. As she rested her back against the large oak behind her she looked up at the autumn midday sun, the same scene replaying in her mind.

She could still hear Athena's scream piercing her thoughts.

"I'm sorry Athena…" she said quietly, her mind drifting back to a few nights ago. "I should have got there sooner…"

 _It was nearing midnight in the City. Most of the bars were beginning to close and Kayla found herself with Athena on the shore of the large river that winded it's way through the City. As Kayla watched Athena skip stones she couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of nightlife in the City, the lights twinkling like stars and the sounds of night traffic ringing through the air. The Warlock turned to look at Athena._

 _To her surprise, not that she was complaining, Athena had sobered up a little. Enough to skip stones at least. The Titan still looked worn down and conversation wasn't high on the agenda. Kayla looked down, Artemis' death in her mind._

 _If she had only been quicker. Or stronger. There must have been a way for her to have changed it. There had to be._

" _Thanks," Athena said suddenly, breaking Kayla out of her thoughts._

" _F-For what?" Kayla asked nervously._

" _Keeping me company," the Titan replied. "It…it means a lot."_

" _Don't worry about it," Kayla smiled. "What will you do now? Sunbreakers are mercs, right?"_

" _I don't know…" Athena sighed. "I can't drink this away, but I've sank too much time into the Vanguard to call it quits now. I suppose I should probably stay. It'd be the honourable thing to do I guess…" Athena threw her last stone hard, the stone skipping far before sinking, before pulling out the engagement ring, holding it tight in her fist. "I swear I'll do you proud," she whispered._

 _Kayla watched on as Athena pulled the ring close to her chest, crouching as she sobbed, and the Warlock couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt in her own._

" _Hey! Runt!" Athena shouted._

" _Y-Yes?" Kayla said, sitting up straight._

" _If you ever need me, let me know, ok?" Athena said shakily._

 _Kayla watched as Athena stared out over the river, the bitter chill of the wind biting at her. She could go up to her, but the Warlock knew Athena didn't want Kayla seeing her the way she was. Slowly she nodded. "I will do, Athena. You can count on it."_

 _Athena nodded in return, standing up. "Good…good."_

"Hey!" said a voice, breaking Kayla out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, hey Delta," Kayla said with a smile.

"I heard what happened on Mars," he said solemnly. "I'm sorry to hear it."

"Yeah…I just wish there was more that I could do…"

Delta shrugged. "Guardians are a lot of things, but we're not invincible. I'm sure you did all you could anyway."

Kayla nodded slightly. "I suppose I'd best go back to the Hall. I've been ignoring Zavala's calls all morning."

"Ooo, he won't be happy about that," Delta chuckled.

"Tell me about it!"

Kayla double timed it to the Hall of Guardians, practically panting when she got there. Cayde grinned at her then motioned to Zavala, who looked less than pleased about being ignored. Kayla gave a sheepish laugh before rambling at Zavala. The Commander held up his hand to stop her.

"I understand Artemis' death will have shaken you," he said calmly. "I understand that you will need time to deal with it, but please do not ignore me again."

"Yes, sir…" Kayla said quietly. "What is the next mission about?"

"Ikora and the Hidden are still analysing what they can about the Black Garden," Zavala replied. "But I've had reports from Guardians on Mars that since your incursion into the Iron Line there have been surges of Vex activity. Since you have the most experience with these machines I want you to find out where they're coming from and stop their invasion."

"Yes, sir!" Kayla said, turning and heading for the hangar.

It didn't take long for Kayla to be on her way out to Mars once again and Kayla marvelled once again at the sight of outer space. Still, inside her was a small feeling of worry. How long would this fight against the Vex go on for? What if she failed? She was the only one who knew what awaited them if they failed, the only one who knew what had befall Iris' world.

It scared her to death.

"If we don't stop them, then Mars will become worse than Venus…" Ghost murmured.

"I think that might be the least of our worries," Kayla said with a slight chuckle, trying to put on a brave face.

"O-Of course…." Ghost said. "Still…I can't help but wonder why the Vex are speeding up the transformation of Mars. They seem content holding off the Cabal, why would they suddenly invade en masse?"

"Hopefully there's a simpler answer than 'invasion'," Kayla said, descending through Mars' atmosphere.

Kayla landed in the clearing she had landed in before and set off down the valley, the quiet spires of Freehold standing tall in the distance casting long shadows in the setting sun. As Kayla walked through the sands she held out Ghost for any guidance.

"Any ideas then?" Kayla asked.

"Hmm…the only way I can think of to home in on where the Vex are coming from would be to find a conflux," he replied. "Like the one on Venus"

"Which would be…?"

"Hang on!" Ghost said, his eye glowing. "Seems like there's one ohh…"

"What?"

"….Outside Firebase Rubicon."

Kayla paused for a moment. "Well, no one said this would be easy…" she sighed as she summoned her Sparrow.

It didn't take long for the familiar fortifications of Firebase Rubicon to appear in the distance and the noise of the Vex's ongoing siege on the structure could be heard throughout the valley. When Kayla came out on to the battlefield she could see the broken bodies of the Vex and the bloodied, oily corpses of the Cabal scattered all over. Seeing the amount of Cabal sacrificing themselves to hold this position she couldn't help but wonder just how many Cabal had been brought to Mars in the first place.

"This is insane…" Kayla gasped, sneaking through unnoticed behind the Vex line. "How can they just throw themselves at the Vex? How can they being _losing_ to the Vex?"

"Cayde's your best bet to answer those questions," Ghost replied in a hushed whisper.

"So what? Swiss Army Ghost doesn't have an encyclopaedia?" Kayla laughed.

"I know I'm amazing, but I'm not perfect," Ghost grumbled.

Kayla came up to a conflux nestled in a rocky crevice just off the battlefield. Taking care to avoid the Vex Kayla ran up to the conflux and held out Ghost, keeping an eye out for anything that would interfere with them.

"I see…" Ghost murmured as he scanned the conflux. "Oh, that's not good…This is part of a bigger surge. Seems like the Cabal have been keeping an eye on it, but since you killed Sha'aul and Ta'aurc I don't think they've been able to do anything about it."

"Where's it coming from?" Kayla asked.

"Below Freehold," Ghost replied. "My maps show an old transit system, some sort of underground railway. That's where the Vex are coming from."

Kayla nodded then mounted her Sparrow again. "I hope it's not a nest," Kayla sighed before heading off back through the battleground.

"With everything that's been happening, I think a nest is the least of our worries," Ghost said.

Kayla sped through the dunes, heading down a steep sandy incline that led to the buried city of Freehold. As she journeyed through the sand filled ruins of the tallest skyscrapers known to mankind she couldn't help but feel a strange sadness. Cruising through the streets, ignoring the Vex, she marvelled at the sight of the peaceful beauty of destruction the city had become during the collapse, imagining a feeling similar to that of the first people to discover Egyptian or Roman ruins. To her, this was the rediscovery of the modern-day Rome, the technological powerhouse of humanity's Golden Age. And despite this, there was a sadness. For when Kayla stopped at the lowest point of the city, the entrance to the subway station, and looked up at the twin moons she couldn't help but feel grief for that the strength of the Golden Age, the proof that humanity could be more than it was, was now just a looted, ruined, war-torn husk of a monument.

This was the strength the Darkness had. To turn the shining beacon of the Golden Age into a desolate waste fought over by the scraps of a faraway army and an emotionless network of machines.

Kayla pulled up to the station, finding it surrounded by Harpies. Kayla quickly eliminated the aerial Vex before heading into the abandoned train station, soon stopping as she was met with an inky gloom.

"Ghost, could I get a little light?" Kayla asked.

Ghost flashed up behind her, illuminating the darkness. It didn't do much though and Kayla could only see a few metres in front of her. Kayla's face fell.

"Ohhh, this is gonna suck…" she groaned as she set off.

"Just aim for any red eye you see," Ghost offered.

Kayla hesitantly moved deeper into Freehold station, feeling her way through the abandoned structure as she headed through the darkness. She felt her anxiety welling up again as flashes of the Hive attacking her in the Cosmodrome flew through her head. The Warlock didn't know what was worse: being jumped by zombies that wanted to tear her limb from limb, or being jumped by machines trying to literally erase her from existence.

She eventually came out to a large dimly lit room, marked out by some emergency lighting. In the darkness she could make out the silhouettes of escalators, Kayla realising she was on a balcony of sorts. In the pit below her, she could make out the shapes of abandoned trains. Taking a deep breath, Kayla stepped out into the terminal, the footstep echoing in the dark. No sooner had she done that the familiar electrical fog that heralded the Vex began to form.

Kayla immediately ducked behind the balcony's barrier, shooting down the Goblins that appeared to stop her. As she reloaded Ghost peeked out only to duck back down as the larger mortar of a Cyclops flew overhead and slammed into the wall, sending down rubble and debris.

"You know how you talked about a nest?" Ghost asked. "I think we found a nest!"

Kayla broke cover, throwing down a Vortex Grenade and firing on the Vex with her PRI. As she took down the Goblins, taking care to avoid the Cyclops, she saw some Hobgoblins spawn in the distance. Kayla ducked as their line rifles fired on her head, one of them narrowly grazing her helmet.

"Dammit!" Kayla muttered.

As she crawled under the laser fire the stomping of a Minotaur caught her attention. Kayla quickly switched to her Matador and broke off into a run. The Minotaur reached the top, turning to swipe her but Kayla swerved away and fired with her shotgun. The Minotaur stumbled as a large chunk of its shoulder flew off, shrapnel bouncing down the escalator. Kayla fired again, stunning the Minotaur before kicking it down the stairs. The injured Minotaur tumbled down, taking any Goblins trying to climb up with it.

Kayla ducked behind cover again as a second Minotaur fired on her from below. Peaking through a small crack looked at the Hobgoblins.

"They're stood on an engine car…" Kayla murmured. "Ghost, can you blow that up?"

"I can try, but you'll be without light," the small robot replied. "You'll be at a disadvantage."

"Don't worry about me," Kayla said, grinning under her helmet.

Ghost nodded and flew off into the gloom, leaving Kayla alone with the blinking red lights. It was a risky move, Kayla knew this, and she was forced to crawling and feel her way to the barrier. She figured that the Vex had some way to track her due to them bombarding her position with laser fire, the floor shaking with the occasional mortar fire.

Eventually Kayla found the top of the escalator. Crouching behind the corner she whipped out her Nihilist and fired mercilessly on the second Minotaur. Soon the red light blinked out and Kayla ducked back to avoid the mortar of the Cyclops, the shockwave throwing her back against the wall. When she landed she felt a line rifle round pierce her wrist causing her to drop her gun.

"Shit!" she whispered, cradling her hand and crawling back to cover.

No sooner had she done so a large explosion rocked the terminal. A few seconds later a Hobgoblin's head landed in front of her, clanging on the metal ground, making her jump. Moments after Ghost came back, flashing his light in her face.

"Hobgoblins down," Ghost said happily.

"Alright, now just the Cyclops," Kayla said, shielding her eyes.

Grabbing her Nihilist Kayla took off down the escalator and jumped, throwing a Nova Bomb at the Cyclops. Purple Light mixed with the explosion of the Vex unit flashed in the darkness as the air crackled with Void energy, silence falling over the terminal.

"You ok?" Ghost asked, healing Kayla's wrist.

Kayla nodded. "Yeah," she said walking through the train wreckage and heading into a tunnel. "There's some light through here. Maybe this is where the Vex are hiding?"

"Let's hope so," Ghost replied. "The sooner we get out of this station, the better."

The pair headed through the tunnels, the sounds of Vex squawking nearby warning them of the danger up ahead. Kayla took off at a run, eyes adjusting to the light at the end of the tunnel. When she came out she hid behind a train car, spying on the Vex. To her horror there was a Transfer Gate in the junction. Looking down the open tunnel she could see even more littering the train lines.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Kayla sighed.

"No wonder there's so many Vex in Freehold," Ghost said quietly. "They've got the perfect entry point! You've got to shut them down!"

Kayla nodded and wasted no time vaulting over a barrier and fired on the Goblins, catching the Vex by surprise. The Warlock slide up to one and blasted it in the stomach with her Matador before quickly getting up and slapping an incoming Minotaur with a Palm Strike. The Minotaur stumbled slightly, allowing Kayla to finish it off with a blast of her shotgun. Switching quickly to her PRI she took out the surrounding Harpies with a few quick shots before the sound of a Line Rifle going off caused her to instinctively duck behind a train car.

"Dammit," Kayla muttered, firing into the Vex Gate behind her with her Nihilist.

The Gate sparked a little before shutting down, allowing Kayla to turn her attention to the rogue Hobgoblin. Slipping between two carriages Kayla peeked out, holding her PRI close. The Hobgoblin was on the roof of another train car, watching Kayla's last known position which confused the Warlock to wonder why it hadn't already flushed her out.

"Hey, Ghost," she whispered. "The Vex fight by simulating everything, don't they?"

"Yes, why?"

"If that's the case, why hasn't that Hobgoblin already found me?"

"It isn't simulating you," Ghost blinked, realising the same thing Kayla had. "Or…"

"It _can't_ simulate me," Kayla finished. "Or any other Guardian for that matter given Jaeger's encounters with them."

"But…why?"

"I don't know. But if they can't then we need to take that opportunity."

Kayla fired on the Hobgoblin, causing it to stumble, before throwing a Vortex Grenade at it. The Vex crumbled as the Void ate away at it and Kayla took off down the tunnel. Multiple Vex started to swarm out of the Transfer Gates, firing on Kayla with their Slap Rifles. The Warlock moved behind a derailed train car and fired on the Vex with her PRI but as quickly as the Vex fell the Transfer Gates spawned more. Kayla quickly threw a Vortex Grenade to distract the Vex before firing on the Gates with her Nihilist. From a distance a Minotaur aimed at her, firing its Torch Hammer in rapid succession.

"Kayla, look out!" Ghost yelled.

Kayla looked up in time to see the globule of energy smack her straight in the chest, throwing her backwards. She landed hard on the rail line, something cracking in her back. Kayla yelled out in pain, turning over slightly.

" _Fuck!_ " Kayla shouted, pounding the ground and biting her bottom lip, throwing the charred Nihilist on the ground.

"I got you," Ghost said, heading behind Kayla.

Kayla kneeled, fighting the pain and angrily threw a Nova Bomb at the Vex Gates. While the Nova Bomb didn't do much to stem the flow, the ensuing explosions from the trains rocked the tunnel. Chucks of Gate and shrapnel from the Vex's robotic chassis' flew everywhere. Kayla was knocked back further, her armour and skin partially burned. Ghost, who had flown away to avoid it, came back to the bloodied and burned Kayla, lying in the wreckage of a carriage.

She gave a shaky thumbs up and grinned.

"You have got to stop doing stuff like that!" Ghost shouted, healing her.

Kayla stood up, dusting herself down. "No biggie," she said with a shrug.

The Voidwalker set off down the tunnel, taking care to avoid the small fires that had broken out on the line. Eventually she came out to a large station. The end tunnels were blocked and the roof had partially collapsed making the tunnel she had gone through the only exit or entrance. On one side was an active Vex gate and a conflux.

"There! That's what I picked up!" Ghost said.

Before the pair had a chance to get to the conflux the Transfer Gate hummed slightly as a large bulky Minotaur stepped out. The Vex looked around with its glowing red eye, focusing on Kayla. Kayla backed up as the HUD on her helmet flagged it as the Prohibitive Mind, images of Sekrion flashing through her head.

"It might be a Mind, but it's still just a Minotaur," Ghost encouraged. "Focus on that."

Kayla nodded and began to move as the Mind fired on her with its Torch Hammer. Kayla fired back with her PRI, circling the Minotaur as bullets ricocheted off its armour. The Mind continued to fire, blocking the bullets with its arm. Kayla took a chance and rushed the Mind, leaping up and firing at it with her shotgun. The Mind roared in pain, smacking Kayla away with its Torch Hammer. Kayla landed against a concrete pillar, sliding down onto the railway line. She came to just in time to see the Mind rush towards her, sliding down further as the Mind smashed its fist into the pillar. Kayla looked at the Mind in shock, instantly firing on it with her Matador. The Minotaur stumbled back before lunging at her again.

Kayla rolled out of the way, scrambling to her feet as the Mind fired on her again with its Torch Hammer. Kayla switched weapons, fighting back with her PRI. The Mind flinched as the bullets pierced its eye, blinding the Minotaur. The Mind staggered slightly before throwing its weapon on the ground.

"Uh oh…" Kayla gulped.

The Mind stood up before dashing towards Kayla again. The Warlocked dived out of the way as the Mind lunged at her once more, firing on it with her PRI. The Mind smacked out, striking Kayla and winding her. The Mind reached out and grabbed Kayla by the neck with its cold metal fingers, ripping away her PRI before smashing Kayla against a nearby pillar causing her to cough up blood.

"Kayla!" Ghost yelled, flying towards her.

"Don't!" Kayla croaked back, holding her hand above the Mind's head. "I got this."

Straining against the Mind's grip she launched a Vortex Grenade at it. The Mind strained as the grenade's effects took hold, dropping Kayla and lashing out at the Void energy as it squawked in pain. Kayla slipped round it and fired into the Mind's back with her Matador. The Mind stumbled forwards and Kayla fired again, causing the Mind to collapse. She fired once more, killing the Prohibitive Mind. Finally she turned and fired a few shells at the Transfer Gate, shutting it down.

Silence fell on the terminal and Kayla breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you ok?" Ghost asked.

Kayla nodded. "Yeah, just shaken."

"Oh, _that_ scares you!"

"Let's just scan the Conflux, it's been a long evening," Kayla chuckled.

Ghost nodded then flew over to the Conflux. After a quick scan he floated backwards a little in surprise. "It's not an invasion!" he gasped.

"I'm sorry, what?" Kayla asked.

"The Vex, they're not here to invade," Ghost replied. "They're returning home, returning to the Black Garden. Something's calling them back there. But…" then he slow turned, worry evident in his eye. "I thought the Vex can't simulate you."

"I don't think they can…" Kayla said, a cold shiver running down her spine. "Which means something in the Black Garden knows we're coming for it. In any case we need to go back and prepare." Kayla took off her helmet, eyes filled with a fierce determination. "Tomorrow we hit the Black Garden."

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **Last City**_

"What do you mean we can't hit the Black Garden?!" Kayla asked in anger.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Cayde said, holding up his hands in defence. "Look, I get that you want to stop the Vex as much as we do, believe me I get that. However…before you arrived on Mars Rasputin bombarded the Exclusion Zone with missiles. He's somewhere in Freehold. Ta'aurc, before you killed him, ordered three Psions, Kolar, Numoc and Vatch, to find him."

"Which means?" Kayla asked.

"Which means you three need to get to him before they do," Zavala announced, walking in with Athena and Delta.

 **Next time:** Kayla leads a fireteam to Rasputin's base on Mars in **Chapter 1-27: The Dust Palace**


	25. 1-25) The Dust Palace

**A/N:** To all my readers Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. If you don't celebrate Christmas, then I hope you all just have a wonderful holiday in general.

I won't be uploading again until January, so I hope you enjoy this chapter. Chapter lengths will return to normal then. See you in the New Year.

 **EDIT 25/04/18**

Fused this with the next chapter for better flow.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ and _Destiny 2_ are both owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only own Kayla and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc: 04:** Fruit of the Garden

 **Chapter 026:** The Dust Palace

" _The Dust Palace used to be the headquarters of Clovis Bray, the Golden Age's leading technology company,"_ came Cayde's voice over the comms. _"The Cabal have had a hold on it since they arrive and I'm sure they would have mined it dry by now if they didn't have their hands full with the Vex. However, since Rasputin attacked the Cabal have let the Psion Flayers out of their cages, to dig around the central AI's cortex. Rasputin, like the mad machine he is, hasn't taken too kindly to that for obvious reasons."_

" _Normally Zavala'd just leave Rasputin to deal with it, however the Flayers are still trying to get past him. Which means they_ really _want what's buried in there. If Rasputin's protecting it, it's valuable. You need to flush those Flayers out."_

"Sounds like this'll be fun," Delta chuckled as the trio flew over the Exclusion Zone. "So you're a Sunbreaker, huh? Don't see many of them around the City."

Kayla cringed as the silence over the comms deafened her.

"So…you have anyone special back on Earth?" Delta asked innocently.

"You're a Defender, right?" Athena snapped.

"Yes?"

"Then stick to defending and stop running your mouth! _Bastardo._ "

"Jeez…" Delta groaned over a private channel. "Kayla, she's even grumpier than Adam! I think I might strangle someone..."

"Preferably not me," Kayla laughed. "Listen, Athena's not that bad when you get to know her. She's been through a lot, I'll talk to her."

"Best of luck."

Kayla sighed and rubbed her temples before switching over to Athena's channel. "Hey," Kayla said calmly.

"What?" Athena growled.

"Look, don't be so harsh on Delta, he didn't know."

"Well, maybe if he read the mission briefing, he would!"

"Did you?"

"…No."

"Exactly," Kayla said, sighing afterwards. "Athena, I'm going to say this once and you probably won't like it, but I'm saying this as your friend."

Athena was silent and Kayla could feel her glaring daggers from her ship. Kayla swore a little then spoke. "I know you're still torn up over losing Artemis, and I remember what we said the other night, but you can't just lash out at everyone because you're angry. It won't win you any favours with the Vanguard and it certainly won't win you any favours with me."

"Who said I'm trying to win any favours, Kayla?!" Athena shouted, deafening Kayla.

"Now you're just being childish!" Kayla shouted back. "Getting angry at me won't make you feel better, and neither will yelling at Delta who didn't know anything!"

"Don't tell me how to fucking grieve!"

From the middle ship of the group Delta watched from his cockpit as the two girls yelled and swore at each other over the comms. Sal stared at Athena, trying to catch some of what she was saying. Suddenly Sal let out a small, quiet gasp.

"I don't like Miss Athena…" Sal said looking down. "She scares me…"

"Why, what did she say?" Delta asked.

Sal turned to Delta, stammering. "S-She called Kayla a…a…" Sal flew up to Delta, whispering in his ear. "The 'C' word."

Delta shook his head. "My god, what have I got myself in to," he said with a wry chuckle.

"M-Maybe we should leave…" Sal said sadly.

"Nah, it'll be fine," Delta said, looking over at Kayla's ship, watching the girl rant. "Kayla says Athena's ok and I trust her with that." Delta thought a moment. "I think she's probably lost someone close to her and I fudged up by asking her, so don't worry about it ok?"

Sal's eye lit up as Delta gave her a reassuring pet. She quickly nodded then went back to navigating. Finally Athena came over Delta's comms.

"Look…you didn't know and I'm sorry," Athena said begrudgingly.

"It's alright, I sort of figured it out anyway," Delta said calmly. "Any friend of Kayla's is a friend of mine so you're forgiven."

"Don't push your luck, we ain't friends yet," Athena said. Delta looked over to her ship, seeing her smirk from the cockpit. "Bury the hatchet and we'll see after the mission, 'kay?"

"Yes, ma'am," Delta laughed.

In her own ship Kayla gave a sigh of relief. "Crisis averted," she said with a chuckle.

"We'll make a leader out of you yet," Ghost laughed before speaking over the comms. "We're going to land outside the building. Cayde's reports say the Flayers already at the top of the Dust Palace so we need to move."

"Gotcha," Delta said.

"Noted," Athena replied.

The trio touched down in the sandy dunes of Freehold. Before them was a giant tower that seem to touch the hazy sky. From below Kayla could see a Cabal ship hovering in place around the tip of the tower.

"Come on guys," Kayla said, dashing off to the entrance to the building with the two Titans in tow.

The group came up against a small contingent of Cabal at the reception area of the building. The aliens opened fire on Kayla's team, the Psions quickly sliding behind cover. The Centurion leading the group gave a rallying cry pumping the Cabal into a ferocious vigour.

Delta led the charge, firing on the Legionaries with his fusion rifle. The Legionnaires ducked behind cover as the raw energy lanced them, burning through their armour. Phalanxes moved forward to block the attack but Kayla leaped over them, hitting them in the back with her shotgun. Meanwhile Athena charged the Centurion, jumping up and flooring it with one punch. The Centurion growled, kicking Athena in the stomach, winding her. Delta noticed, firing a lance from his fusion rifle at the Centurion and causing it to stumble.

"Thanks!" Athena said, pulling out her pistol and firing at the Centurion.

The Centurion collapsed on the ground but Athena was soon forced back by a Psion's psychic blast. Kayla vaulted over the balcony in front of them, striking one with an Energy Drain melee and firing her Matador at another. The last Psion kept to cover, peeking its gun out and firing on Kayla. The Warlock grunted as one of the slug rounds struck her left shoulder, the force of the explosion knocking her back.

"'Nade out!" Athena shouted as she threw a fusion grenade at the Psion.

The glowing orb of energy struck the Psion's arm, sticking to it before exploding. The Psion flew across the room, its arm a smouldering mess. Delta looked at the girls then walked over to it, nudging it with his foot. It was dead.

"Not quite the welcome I wanted," he said.

"You were expecting something different?" Kayla asked with a laugh.

"From the esteemed Clovis Bray, yeah."

"Can we just focus on what's at hand?" Athena said as she headed down the broken lift shaft. "We're on a time limit, remember?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Delta said with a roll of his eyes.

The two followed Athena down the sand filled shaft, taking care not fall. Eventually they came to a large room that seemed to be some kind of basement. It was filled with forklifts and unopened storage boxes that were marked with an emblem similar to that of the Warminds. Kayla instantly recognised it as the mark of Clovis Bray's nanomachine experiments, something the company had tried to utilise to further the Exodus Project, mankind's attempts at going beyond the Solar System. As far as she was aware the project was a failure. So why did they have so many storage containers for it? Kayla shook her head. It didn't matter now, that was for certain.

" _Cazzo!_ " Athena shouted from a nearby door. "They've locked us out!"

Delta turned to Kayla. "Seems they knew we were coming."

"Probably didn't want any trouble after we killed Sha'aul and Ta'aurc," Kayla said.

"I can unlock the door for you all," Owl said. "But, if the Cabal have any sense, they will have wired this up to an alarm."

As soon as Owl began hacking the door the alarms sounded. The three Guardians entered cover as Cabal burst through the doors. They weren't a tough unit, only a handful of Legionnaires and Psions and Kayla the group easily took them by surprise from atop the balcony.

"Don't let them get through!" one of the Legionnaires shouted. "Flank them!"

"Nine o'clock, Athena!" Delta shouted, firing on the Legionnaires below him.

"Got it!" Athena yelled back, running over to where Owl was and firing on the Legionnaires flanking them with her Jabberhäcke, punching some of the for good measure.

"Do you want me to go help her?" Delta asked Kayla.

"Trust me, Athena knows what she's doing," Kayla replied, rolling out of the way of a Psion's blast.

"Flashbang out!" Delta said, through out a grenade into the crowd of Psions.

Kayla looked away as the grenade went off blinding the Psions and causing them to stagger, allowing Kayla to pick them off. With the Psions defeated the Warlock glanced at Athena. The Sunbreaker was busy pummelling the Cabal, swinging with deadly precision and throwing the 800lb masses like they were ragdolls.

"Heh, heh, reminder not to spit in her drink," Delta chuckled, firing on a Cabal that had grabbed her from behind.

The Cabal dropped Athena, her promptly roundhouse kicked the Legionnaire across the face sending him tumbling off the balcony before ripping the slug rifle off another one and hitting him with it, firing into his chest for good measure.

"All finished," Owl said, flying back to Athena.

Delta looked around, inspecting the dead Cabal. "Oh, _now_ it opens," he said sarcastically.

"Is everyone alright?" Kayla asked.

"Fine here," Delta replied.

"Nothing I can't handle," Athena said with a smirk.

Kayla nodded and peered through the door. Beyond them was a dimly lit staircase that led up the tower. She turned to the others and shrugged before cautiously entering the stairwell. As the team ascended Kayla took note of where she was. From the exposed piping and lack of fancy, if decaying, décor she figured there where in a stairwell used by the maintenance staff. Old mop buckets seemed to clarify this and Kayla wondered if they would be able to sneak past the Cabal. That being said Kayla didn't want to risk getting trapped between floors, and between them.

"How tall do you think this is?" Delta asked.

"Don't tell me you're tired already?" Athena joked.

"Clovis Bray Tower was the tallest building in Freehold," Kayla said. "Taller than Burj Khalifa at least."

"Burj…Khalifa?" Athena asked.

"It was a hotel in Dubai," Kayla said, turning to see their blank faces. "Out in the deserts, pre-Golden Age. The pinnacle of human engineering. That is until Freehold came along, and Clovis Bray I wanted to show off what his company could do. So, he had a 182 -floor tower built." Kayla thought for a moment. "Come to think of it, I think half of it is buried _below_ us."

The others stared at each other then back at Kayla in disbelief.

"What?" she asked with a shrug. "The guy had an ego the size of Jupiter."

"Sounds like he was compensating," Delta said dryly.

"I still don't understand why anyone would build a hotel in the desert," Athena said.

"Things were different back then," Kayla said sadly. "Anyway, we need to get moving."

The three Guardians took off at a run, coming out at a large semi-circular lobby with an equally large window covered in multiple, shattered panes. Near the window was a staircase, partially smashed, that led to the upper balcony of the lobby. The place was also littered with Cabal, led by a large Colossus. Ghost snuck out, flying up to the door above them.

"Bad news," Ghost sighed over the comms. "The door's locked. I can hack it, but you'd need to…y'know."

Kayla groaned. "I'm starting to sense a pattern here."

Athena opened fire first prompting the Cabal to head to cover. Sticking to the entrance cove the three Guardians shot at the Cabal, dropping some of them. Delta kept on eye on the Colossus as it lumbered up the staircase for a good shot.

"Both of you, on me!" Delta ordered as the Colossus unleashed a volley of missiles.

The girls huddled around Delta as threw up a bubble shield. The missiles collided with the shield, exploding violently against the Void Light. Athena smirked before leaping out and summoning her Hammer of Sol and charging into the Cabal. She jumped on to one, smashing its face with the hammer before throwing the hammer at a small squad of Cabal. The hammer made impact with one, causing a fiery explosion that sent nearby Cabal flying.

Delta and Kayla hung at the back, covering Athena and dispatching most of the Cabal she missed. Kayla threw out a Vortex Grenade at a huddle of Legionaries. As the Void burned their skin the Cabal struggle to get out of its grasp. Delta chuckled and threw a flashbang grenade, firing on them as they stumbled around in vain as the vortex killed them off one by one.

Meanwhile the Colossus backed up a little, aiming its gatling gun on Athena as she raced around the lobby. Kayla focused her shots on the Colossus head, but the giant Cabal launched a massive volley at Athena, forcing her to hide behind a pillar.

"Super's gone!" Athena shouted over the comms. "I'm pinned!"

"Just stay behind cover, we'll handle it!" Kayla replied, turning to Delta. "D, focus on it's hand."

"Gotcha!" Delta said with a wicked grin, aiming at the Colossus right hand.

The pair fired in tandem, eventually able to land the hits. The bullets pierced through the Colossus' gloved hand, causing it to drop is gun. The Cabal clenched its fist in pain, backing up slightly, allowing Athena to fire on the Colossus with her machine gun. After a brief moment the Colossus collapsed, falling down the stairs and landing on the ground with a large thud.

Athena breathed a sigh of relief as Kayla and Delta joined her. "Thanks," Athena said. "For that."

"Don't worry about it," Kayla said with a wave of her hand.

"Door's open," Ghost said as he flew back to Kayla. "We can get going."

The trio of Guardians headed up the dilapidated staircase, moving swiftly through the lobby. Kayla knew they couldn't afford anymore setbacks, but the one thing that was bugging her the most was Rasputin's motives. Clovis Bray were the leading scientific development corporation of the Golden Age, but she couldn't place what the Dust Palace would have that would benefit the old Warmind. The more Kayla thought about it the more mysterious Rasputin's intentions seemed. The AI had no intention of helping the City, that much was clear to Kayla. What ever Clovis Bray was hiding it benefit Rasputin and only Rasputin.

The three Guardians eventually came another large room the seemed to house the building's computers. There were no Cabal here, something Kayla was thankful for, but as the team came to the next door they found it locked.

"Sal, you're up," Delta said, holding his ghost to the door.

"R-right," Sal said, scanning the door.

While they waited Kayla looked around the dimly light room. Before them was a large supercomputer with a thin glowing, flickering core. Kayla hesitantly stepped forward for a closer look, only to be accosted in Russian.

"Nice to know we've got a friend here!" Delta chuckled, reloading his guns.

"I'm just looking," Kayla said, voice echoing. "We're here to help, but we need to know what you're protecting."

There was silence for a few seconds before the room suddenly went dark, the two Titans raising their weapons. After a tense few seconds the lights around the core came on and Rasputin spoke again.

"I…I think he said 'come see the secret of Clovis Bray'," Ghost said hesitantly. "The word 'brother' came up several times as well."

Kayla walked up to the core, finding a dusty name plate beneath the CPU. Slowly she wiped the dust away, finding one name: Charlemagne. Suddenly everything made sense.

"Of course!" Kayla said, smacking her forehead. "God, I'm so thick!"

"What?" Athena asked. "What is it?"

"It's Charlemagne," Kayla said, gently touching the glowing core. "Rasputin's brother, Charlemagne."

"The Martian Warmind?" Delta asked.

"Yeah," Kayla replied. "The secret to all the military information on Mars: that's what the Flayers are after."

"But why is Rasputin here?" Athena asked.

Rasputin suddenly lit up the room, angrily shouting at them. Kayla picked up a mournful tone in his voice and stroked Charlemagne's core once more. "Charlemagne's dying…" Kayla said sadly. "Rasputin's come to make sure his brother has a peaceful death."

"That's awful!" Sal said as the door opened. "W-We need to help Rasputin!"

"What do you say big guy?" Delta asked. "Help us force the Flayers out and we'll make sure they never bother your brother again."

The was a pause before Rasputin spoke again, his voice filled with fury. "Give. Them. Hell."

Kayla nodded and led the Guardians up the stairwell. The team came out on the to the roof of the Dust Palace, overlooking the vast crumbling city below them. Cabal ships flew silently over Freehold and Kayla could even see the Iron Line from where they were. In three separate places around the area were three Psions meditating.

"Charlemagne's cortex is just up ahead," Ghost said.

The Guardians moved up to a large computer at the back of the roof, their ghosts flying ahead of them. Before the Guardians had a chance to do anything the ghosts began to scan the cortex, talking amongst themselves.

"I'd brace yourselves," Athena said quietly as one of the Flayers shook a little. "This could get messy."

"Ohhh that's clever of him," Ghost chuckled.

"Interesting…" Owl said. "Latching on to the psionic energy, looping it, then forcing it backwards to short out the link."

"Let's show these meanies what for!" Sal shouted.

Suddenly the computer sparked, the Flayers screaming at the same time. Everyone raised their guns as the Flayers wearily stood up. The red one was the first to speak, his tone one of disgust and annoyance.

"You've given us a headache, Witch!"

Delta looked at Kayla. "Is he talking to you?"

"Yeah," Kayla replied before raising her voice at the Flayer. "What's your name?"

The red Flayer and the purple Flayer looked taken aback by the personal question, but the blue one seemed to reassure them before taking over. "Reports speak of you always showing mercy to your opponents," the Flayer, a female, said. "Why?"

"What can I say?" Kayla asked with a shrug. "I'm kind."

"Slaughtering our soldiers is kindness?!" the purple one asked angrily.

"We're the ones asking the questions!" Athena snapped.

"Of course, where are our manners?" the blue one said, feigning an apology. "I am Kolar, this is Vatch…" she motioned to the red one. "And Numoc." Kolar motioned to the purple flayer.

"Good, good," Kayla said. "Now that we're all acquainted please leave and never trouble Charlemagne again."

The three Flayers looked at each in disbelief. "…You're serious?" Kolar asked.

"One hundred percent."

"That machine is vital to the Empire," Numoc growled.

"And we have our orders," Vatch said darkly.

Kayla sighed, holding her head in her hand. "Oh, somewhere, someday that will work…"

 **(Fight and Away- KH 1.5 OST)**

"Enough fooling around," Vatch replied, holding up a glowing hand.

"What are you…?" Kayla asked, eyes widening in horror as she heard Delta shout.

"Hey! Put me down!" Delta shouted as Kayla watched him levitate over to Vatch.

Athena raised her gun but Numoc teleported towards her, kicking her in the face and knocking her over the rail of the balcony to the lower platform. Kayla ran over to Athena, only to be thrown away by Numoc's Psionic Blast. She landed in front of Kolar, pain shooting through her body on impact. Kolar stood on her gun, leaning down towards the pissed off Warlock.

"Tell me…do you three have what it takes to beat a mind such as ours?" Kolar asked with a sadistic chuckle.

 **KOLAR, VATCH & NUMOC**

 **THE PSION FLAYERS**

Kayla glared at the Flayer, throwing up a Vortex Grenade at her. Kolar yelled in pain, the brief stun allowing Kayla to grab her gun and back up a little, firing on the Flayer. Kolar dodged the bullets and fired off a Psionic Blast that knocked Kayla further backwards. The Warlock quickly got up to her feet as Kolar fired at Kayla with her slug rifle, gliding away from the rounds before firing on Kolar again this time strike her in the shoulder.

"You ok over there?" Athena asked as she ducked under Numoc's psionically charged punches.

"You do your job, I'll do mine!" Kayla replied as she moved in to strike Kolar.

Athena nodded, switching to her pistol and firing on Numoc. Numoc simply waved his finger, deflecting the bullets away from him before moving to punch again. Athena blocked with her forearm before punching the Flayer in the gut, winding him. Thinking quickly she grabbed Numoc's skull and headbutted him in the face. The Psion growled, throwing out his hands and forced Athena back with a wave of Psionic energy.

"Delta, how are you holding up?" Athena grunted as she stood, readying her PRX.

"Fine!" Delta shouted back as he ducked under a crate Vatch had thrown.

"Stand still and let me hit you!" Vatch hissed, firing at Delta with his slug rifle.

Delta rolled, ducking behind a barrier and shooting Vatch with his pulse rifle. Vatch stumbled slightly, vaguely irritated by the attack, before firing back at the Titan. The rounds struck Delta, denting his armour with every explosion, but the Titan didn't let up. Throwing a flashbang for good measure Delta charged Vatch, blindsiding the Flayer with the butt of his gun before lancing Vatch with his fusion rifle. Vatch let out a powerful scream, sending out an equally strong psionic blast that knocked Delta back into the wall. Delta coughed up blood as he felt something smash on impact, slumping on the floor.

"Delta!" Kayla shouted as Kolar knocked her back again.

"Focus, Guardian!" Kolar demanded, firing on the Warlock with her slug rifle. "I'm your opponent!"

Kayla glared at the Psion Flayer before speaking into her comms unit. "Sal, get Delta!"

"O-oh! Ok!" Sal said quickly.

Kolar chuckled and charged Kayla, striking her in the chest with a psionic palm strike. Kayla shuddered as she felt her a painful shock ripple over her very soul, stumbling to her knees as she clutched her chest. Kolar paced around her, a smug grin on her face.

"This is the best the Guardians of Earth have?" she gloated. "I've seen better in the slums of Torobatl!"

"I'm going to pretend I know what that is…" Kayla muttered under her breath, keeping an eye on Kolar's position. "I wouldn't gloat just yet," Kayla said, her voice hoarse from the psionic shock.

"Oh? And why…oof!" Kolar grunted as Kayla spun round and smashed the side of the Flayer's face with the butt of her gun, using it like a club before spinning the weapon around and firing at the stunned Kolar.

Kolar backed up, grunting as the bullets pierced her armour and embedded themselves in her flesh. She clenched her fist, growling in rage as the pair charged each other once again.

"Delta!" Sal cried as Vatch threw him about like a rag doll.

"I'm ok!" Delta shouted as he hit the hard concrete again.

"Get off him!" Sal screamed, flying around Vatch's head.

"Shoo! Damn drone!" Vatch grumbled, trying to swat her like a fly.

"Ooo!" Sal growled, shocking him with a burst of electricity.

Vatch lurched forward, dropping Delta. Slowly he turned, glaring daggers at her as he seethed in fury. "That hurt, drone," he said with a low growl.

Vatch raised a glowing hand, freezing Sal in place. The ghosts eye looked around in fear as the Flayer strode up to her. "Let's see how brave you are when the Empire disassemble you," Vatch chuckled with sadistic glee.

Sal shook in fear as Vatch reached out a clawed hand to her, closing her eye as she braced herself.

"Hands off!" Delta roared, grabbing Vatch by the shoulders and violently suplexing the Flayer. Vatch grunted in shock, pain ripping its way through his body. The Flayer caught to his hands and knees only to be kicked in the gut, Vatch stumbling to the ground again. Delta grabbed his fusion rifle, firing on the downed Flayer.

"Don't you dare touch my ghost!" he boomed.

"Nice moves, Delta!" Athena laughed as she threw another punch at Numoc, laughing as the Flayer stumbled backwards. Numoc steadied himself, throwing his arms out as he sent out a psionic blast. Athena skidded backwards, laughing again before she fired on Numoc with her PRX.

"I wonder…" Numoc mused, pulling out his slug rifle and firing back.

Athena dodged, throwing a fusion grenade at the Flayer. The sticky bomb latched on to Numoc's knee, exploding violently and shattering Numoc's kneecap. The Flayer stumbled on to the ground, sending a Psionic blast in Athena's direction. She dodged and fired on Numoc again.

Kolar noticed and booted Kayla in the chest, rushing over to help her injured brother. Vatch did the same, sending out a Psionic shockwave to stun Delta, firing on Athena. The Titan shrugged it off, laughing as she summoned her hammer.

"Athena, don't get carried away!" Kayla cried, Athena's reactions worrying her.

Vatch was the first to lunge at Athena, charging the Sunbreaker with the help of a Psionic burst. Athena smirked, smacking Vatch with the hammer of sol. The red Flayer huffed as the hammer struck, angling himself to kick Athena as he fell. Athena's ignored the pain, grabbing Vatch's leg and spinning him round. With sufficient speed she let go sending him flying into a wall, the force of the impact creating a massive crater.

"Geez, Athena, simmer down!" Delta shouted as Athena turned her attention on Kolar.

Kolar braced herself as the Hammer of Sol was lobbed at her, smacking her across the rooftop. Kolar landed with a loud thud but used the force of the impact to bounce herself upwards and onto her feet. With a burst of Psionic energy she flew towards Athena, grappling her as the force pushed them both to the ground. Athena grabbed the Flayer with a free hand, headbutting her before smacking the Flayer away with the Hammer of Sol.

"Maybe you should fight smarter, not harder, Guardian," Kolar chuckled.

It was then the injured Numoc struck, grabbing her arm and sending a Psionic pulse throughout her body. Athena grabbed her head, screaming in agony as memories of Artemis flooded her mind as her brain tried to claw its way out of her skull. Athena pulled her arm away as she saw Artemis get crushed over and over, stumbling on to the ground as she curled up, weeping softly.

(Pause Fight and Away)

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry my love…" Athena sobbed.

Delta aimed his gun at Numoc. "What the hell did you do?!" he shouted angrily.

"I simply forced her to relive her most traumatic memory," Numoc said like it was nothing.

"That's sick," Kayla said bitterly, a hatred for these Psions burning deep in her chest.

"That's war," Numoc said hoarsely, clutching his injured leg, wincing occasionally as the pain rippled through it.

"That's one down," Vatch said as he climbed out of his hole, his voice oozing sadism. "Two more to go."

Kayla glanced down and the hysterical Athena. "How do you stop it?" she asked.

"Ah," Numoc said, standing up unsteadily. "I think you know the answer to that."

Kayla huffed once then looked at Delta, motioning to the cortex. The Defender nodded then spoke. "So why do the Cabal want Charlemagne so badly?"

"The old human empire that we have discovered had many technological advances," Kolar replied. "We simple want to…acquire its knowledge for our own purposes."

While the Flayers were distracted Kayla whispered into her comms unit. "How's it going, Ghost?"

"Nearly done," Ghost replied. "They'll need to be weakened though."

"Oh, don't worry," Kayla said, giving Athena a sad look. "I plan on it."

"Miss Kayla?" Owl chimed in.

"Yes?"

"Make them pay for harming Athena, will you?" he said nonchalantly.

"What was that about fighting smarter?" Kayla asked, summoning a volatile orb of Void energy in her palm.

Kolar looked at Delta, confused by his smirk, before turning to Kayla, her eye widening in shock as she saw the Nova Bomb forming in her palm.

" _PSIONIC SHIELD, NOW!_ " she ordered.

All three Flayers held up their arms, throwing up a shield of psychic energy as Kayla lobbed the Nova Bomb at them. The Bomb collided with the shield, sparks of Void Light flying into the air as the Nova Bomb's energy cut away at the shield like a saw blade.

" _DON'T LET UP!_ " Kolar shrieked, watching in horror as the shield began to buckle, cracking the air like glass. "DON'T LET UP!"

However, the Nova Bomb kept up speed, shattering the psionic shield and colliding with the Psions in a majestic explosion. As the air crackled with lingering Void energy Kayla ran up to Athena, cradling the Titan as she came too. Slowly she looked at Kayla.

"Where the fuck is that purple bastardo?" she growled.

"Don't worry about that, are you alright?" Kayla asked.

"…Yeah," Athena lied, looking away. "I'm fine."

Kayla sighed and glanced at the Flayers. Vatch was the first stand, shaken as though he had just stared into a void of nothingness. "What the hell was that?!" Vatch shouted.

"What's the matter?" Delta laughed. "Gettin' tired?"

"I'm not tired!" Vatch protested, pointing at Delta in annoyance. "You're tired!"

"Ready," Ghost whispered through Kayla's comms unit.

"When I give the signal," Kayla whispered back.

"I could do this all day," Delta said with smirk.

"Me too!" Vatch snapped childishly.

"That was the plan," Kayla said as she helped Athena to her feet.

The Flayers looked at each in confusion. Kayla smirked. "Let me elaborate," she said. "We're not trying to beat you. We just had to waste your time."

"What are you…?" Kolar asked, her gaze drifting to the Charlemagne's cortex. "No!"

"Now!" Kayla ordered.

Suddenly the cortex whirred into life, a pulse of energy blasting out from Charlemagne's core. The force of the blast knocked the Flayers back as the gripped their heads in pain from the feedback of the pulse.

As the pulse subsided Kolar looked up at the three Guardians in a daze, her clawed hand leaving scratches in the ground. She was brought out of it by Numoc's sudden scream. Kolar turned, watching in shock as Numoc was sent careening off the side of the Dust Palace. From a distance she could see Athena pick up the stunned Vatch by the neck and throw him off the side as well. Then the Sunbreaker's gaze fell on Kolar.

"No…!" Kolar gasped, trying to get to her feet as Athena stormed over to her.

Athena floored the blue Flayer with one punch, leering over her. "Just so you know," Athena growled. "I totally planned on beating you."

Then Athena grabbed the Flayer by the neck, dropping her off the side of the building like the others. Kayla was stunned by Athena's sudden brutality. Delta was the first to go to her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" he shouted. "We're Guardians, not monsters!"

"We killed the targets didn't we?" Athena growled.

"You dropped them off a building!" Delta said.

"And your point?"

"They were defenceless!"

"Oh, and I suppose putting a bullet in their heads when they're downed is a better option, huh?!"

Delta faltered for a moment, before turning to Kayla who shrugged.

"Whatever, I'm going," Athena said. "I'm leaving the report to you Kayla."

Then Athena was gone, her ship flying off in the distance. Delta took off his helmet and furrowed his brow. "She's going to take some getting used to," he sighed.

"Yeah…" Kayla said.

"But I trust you," Delta continued, smiling. "I'll help you with the report. There's a Starbucks I'm fond of in downtown."

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Kayla laughed.

"No!" Delta asked quickly. "I-I was just…"

"Relax," Kayla grinned. "I'm just pulling ya leg. I could do with a coffee after this."

* * *

 **Next time:** Things come to a head as Kayla takes one final trip to Mars in **Chapter 1-26: The Black Garden**


	26. 1-26) The Black Garden

**A/N:** Aaaand I'm back

One more chapter until VoG!

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ , _Destiny 2_ and their expansions are all owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only own Kayla had other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 04:** Fruit of the Garden

 **Chapter 026:** The Black Garden

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **The Last City**_

Kayla stared into the mirror, watching her reflection intently. Her emerald green eyes stood out against her pale skin, her messy black hair hanging just above her shoulders. That reminded her, she needed to cut it at some point. Upon closer inspection she could see a couple of shrapnel scars dotting her face, frowning on the discovery.

After getting undressed Kayla got in the shower, yelping slightly as it shot freezing cold water against her bare skin. After fumbling with the temperature she stood under the water for about 20 minutes. Today was the day, and she was nervous. Finally deciding she couldn't put it off any longer Kayla picked up the black flannel and lathered it up with shower gel before gently scrubbing herself clean, counting all the scars she had acquired over the last few months and singing to herself.

" _And now I'll never turn back_

 _I'll never turn that way_

 _No matter how life will face me_

 _I turn the other way_

 _Now and then, my head starts to spin_

 _But I'll never turn back again_

 _From this moment on, I moving on_

 _And I'll never turn back"_

"Kayla you won't believe this!" Ghost shouted, teleporting into the bathroom.

" _Aaah!"_ Kayla screamed, instinctively throwing the shampoo bottle at the intrusive drone. "What have I told you about barging in on me when I'm in the shower!"

Ghost looked at her, confused. "I don't see why you insist, it's not like you've got anything worth covering."

That earned him a bottle of body wash in the eye.

"Ow!" Ghost yelped as he spun in the air. "What I meant was it's not like you've got, oh, I don't know, a tail or something."

Kayla stared at him in disbelief.

"What?" Ghost asked innocently.

"What am I going to do with you?" Kayla sighed, turning off the shower and drying herself. "Humans are sensitive about showing their bodies to other people, you need to learn to respect that."

"Oh…" Ghost said, looking down. "Why is that?"

"Various reasons, some people feel embarrassed because of how their body looks. Some people feel ashamed, while others feel vulnerable. Even confident people get shy about it."

"So…it's like showing your real self?" Ghost asked.

"Eh, sort of," Kayla shrugged.

"Well…I think you have a very nice body," Ghost said with a nod.

Kayla laughed and pet him. "Don't ever use that on a first date. But thanks."

"Humans are so strange…" Ghost said quietly.

"We are what we are," Kayla said, putting on her underwear. "What's so urgent anyway?"

Ghost thought for a moment. "Hmm…Oh! Yes, that's right," he said quickly. "The Vanguard wish to see us before we depart."

Kayla smiled and nodded. Ghost nodded in returned then turned to float out of the room. Before he did so, he turned back to look at Kayla. "Expect some attention on the way there. The whole tower knows what we're going to do."

"I can only hope it works," Kayla said with a wry smile, zipping up her Warlock robe.

The walk to the Hall of Guardians was filled with a mixture of worry, anxiety and anticipation. Every Guardian she passed turned to stare or whispered amongst themselves as she walked by. The amount of pressure weighing on her to pull this off made her stomach churn with anxiety, and the fact that everyone knew about it didn't help quell her worries. The anticipation though gave her an itch of excitement about the task ahead of her, like staring over a ledge into a gloomy, dark abyss.

She closed her eyes visualising the rocky outcrop in the dark. She could hear the crunch of the grit under her boots, feeling the icy wind whip against her back. She could hear something calling her below…

"Kayla!"

"H-huh? What?" Kayla said, breaking out of her daydream.

"We're here," Ghost said.

Kayla glanced at the Vanguard emblem above the door. The time drew closer. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly she entered the Hall. The Vanguard were huddled around a holographic of the Valley of Kings, murmuring to each other. Although she couldn't quite hear what they were saying, Kayla could make out the words 'Vex' and 'blockade'. That seemed to tell her all she needed to know.

"Ah, here she is!" Cayde said, grinning when he saw her. "The hero of the hour!"

"Don't call her that until she comes back, Cayde," Zavala said sternly.

"What? Can't I give my Guardians a pep talk?"

Zavala glanced at Kayla, who seemed a little taken aback by Zavala's sternness. The Commander sighed then switched off the map. "Sorry. I…we lose too many Guardians to the forces of the Darkness. Please don't take it personally. You've done well, for a rookie."

"I understand," Kayla said, standing firm.

Ikora then walked over to her, handing her the Gate Lord's eye. "My Warlocks have ensured it will work without trapping you in there," she said, chuckling a little. "I must say, out of all the Warlocks I've overseen it has been an honour to watch you grow. When you first arrived here you were a trembling mess. You've become so brave. It's been a pleasure to work with you against the Darkness."

"Don't worry, I'll come back," Kayla said, staring at the grim, worried faces of the Vanguard. "I'm coming back."

"Please do, who else will I play Mah-jong with?" Cayde said cheerfully.

"Before you go," Ikora said, pulling a machine gun of a nearby weapon rack. "Please take this, as a gift from us."

"O-Oh!" Kayla said, taking the gun and looking it over. "Thank you so much."

"The gun's name is called Harm's Way. I pray it will help in the coming fight."

"Godspeed, Kayla Ashcroft," Zavala said with a saluted.

Kayla returned it, turning on her heel and walking out. As they headed for the hangar Ghost appeared next to her, staring at the floor.

"You ok?" Kayla asked.

"Y-Yeah, just…didn't think we'd actually be doing this…" Ghost replied, worry evident in his voice. "Is it possible for a being made of Light, encased in a robotic shell, to feel dread in the pit of his stomach? Cos I'm pretty sure that's what I'm feeling."

"You're scared," Kayla said as they entered the hangar.

"Aren't you?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling and petting Ghost. "But we need to be brave now."

"O-Oh…" Ghost said, looking away. "I-I'm not brave, not like you."

"Hey," Kayla said softly, gently turning Ghost to look at her. "One thing I learned about this world, since you found me, is…being brave isn't acting without fear. It's acting despite that fear. And you're braver than you think."

"Ikora was right," Ghost said, looking up at Kayla. "You have grown."

"Yo, Champ!" came the voice of Amanda by the ship bay. Kayla and Ghost both turned to see the blonde shipwright waving at them. "Zavala called ahead of you, you're ship's all prepped for ya!"

Kayla gave her a thumbs up, then turned to Ghost. "You with me?"

Ghost thought for a moment. "We got the eye. We found the gate. We charged the eye," he said. "And the Vanguard gave us their blessing…for what that's worth…" Ghost paused before giving a firm nod. "I'm with you Guardian. All the way down."

* * *

The pair sat in silence as they journeyed to Mars. As the Red Planet drew ever closer Kayla's heart began to race ever faster as the anxiety twisted and pulled at her mind. Ghost watched on as Kayla's nails dug into the leather around the ship's steering wheel.

"Nerves?" Ghost asked.

Kayla quickly looked at Ghost, then her steering wheel. She took her hand off, watching it tremble slightly before holding it in her other. "Yeah," Kayla said. "But we can do this."

Ghost nodded, looking out as Mars grew bigger and bigger. "Nearly here."

"Yeah…just us…and the silence."

"Come in Archon-Slayer, are you receiving?" came a voice that Kayla recognised.

"D-Delta?!" she asked in shock, speaking into her comms unit. "H-Hi!"

"Got a few people here, they have something to say to you," Delta chuckled.

"K-Kayla?" said the timid voice of Hayley-13. "You there?"

"Hayley?" Kayla replied, stunned. "Y-Yeah, I'm here!"

"I-I just wanted to say thank you so much for helping me out! I-I'm still a little nervous of stuff, but just being with you gave me so much confidence! Oh, a-and good luck!"

"Hayley…" Kayla said with a small smile.

"Hey, sexy," came the smooth, womaniser voice that caused Kayla to chuckle.

"You're still not getting a date, Jaeger!" Kayla said.

"Worth a shot," Jaeger laughed back. "We should get drinks some time when you get back!"

"Shots?"

"You know it! Go get 'em, Kayla!"

"Looks like I'm next," came a gruff voice.

"Shifter, how are you doing?"

"Not bad. Same old. Listen, I'm not one for words or big statements, so…good luck."

"Oi, rookie!" came the lilt of Anora. "Ya best not forget what I taught ya!"

"Haha, I won't!" Kayla said.

"Seriously tho', give 'em hell!"

"All You guys.." Kayla said quietly, wiping her eyes as emotion overcame her.

"And last, but certainly not least, me," Delta said. "Haha…I think everyone's already said what I was so…come back, won't you? You're my best mate."

"Yeah," Kayla nodded. "I will."

There was silence, and she could feel everyone's smiles through the radio. "Good luck, Kayla," Delta finally said. "We'll see you starside."

As the skies of Mars came into view Ghost looked at the Kayla. She was beaming with a fierce determination. "You ready?" Ghost asked with equal determination.

"Always," Kayla grinned, hitting the thrust and speeding off to Meridian Bay.

* * *

 _ **Mars**_

 _ **Meridian Bay**_

It was quiet across the red dunes when Kayla landed, and the lack of gunfire from Freehold and Firebase Rubicon unnerved her. Only the sound of the wind remained, and what sounded like a distress call from somewhere nearby. Kayla looked at Ghost, who motioned a shrug then nodded to the Cabal base.

"It's coming from there," he said.

The pair headed to the base finding it eerily devoid of life. Everything was pristine and in perfect condition, like the base had never been lived in in the first place. The only things of note were the weapons scattered around the base floor, and on the various tables and crates she could see mugs of some sort of Cabal drink. Kayla placed her hand to one of the mugs.

"Still warm," she murmured, looking up as the distress call repeated itself.

" _This is Outpost Lucis, we need urgent support! The machines have us surrounded! We have been compromised and we can't escape! If you can hear this, stay out of the fog! I repeat, stay out of the fog!"_

"Seems like the Vex have been busy with the Cabal," Ghost said, checking the record logs on a nearby computer.

Kayla walked up to it, eyes widening in horror at the screen.

PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM

PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM

PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM

PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM

"This is bad…" Kayla said in shock. "We need to go. It seems the Vex got what they wanted."

The pair quickly left the base and headed back into the dunes. In the distance at Freehold she could see a mass of the Vex's electrical fog, her blood running cold.

"We won't get another chance at this," Ghost said as Kayla summoned her Sparrow. "If we pull this off, we can save the system. If not…"

"The Vex will seize our worlds," Kayla finished, speeding off to the Valley of Kings.

Once Kayla entered the valley she could see that the gate to the Black Garden was active, and guarded by several Minotaurs and a Hydra. Kayla hesitantly left her sparrow and headed down to the Gate. Before she had a chance to engage a large fiery ball came crashing from one of the surrounding cliffs, slamming straight into the Hydra and creating a massive explosion that knocked the Minotaurs to their knees. Kayla's face widened into a grin as the fire cleared, revealing Athena holding her Hammer of Sol.

"Athena!" she cried out, charging in with her scout rifle. "What are you doing here?"

"I figured you'd need some help getting in," Athena replied, smashing the Hydra with her hammer, backflipping off it as it slammed its base into the ground. "And I wanted to wish you good luck."

Kayla nodded, firing into a Minotaur with her PRI. The Vex raised its weapon to melee her but Kayla quickly struck it with a Palm Strike, stunning the machine and allowing to fire into its chest. The Minotaur fell, dead, and the Warlock turned to another oncoming Minotaur as she pulled out her Matador and fired into it. The second Minotaur collapsed into the sand.

Athena on the other hand grabbed the Hydra beneath its eye, balancing on the Hydra chest as it frantically tried to fire on the Titan, and began smashing it with her hammer. As the eye gradually broke the Hydra screamed, falling to the ground as its shell cracked from the sheer force of the impacts. Athena jumped back as the Hydra exploded in a spectacular fireball, taking another Minotaur with it.

The Titan turned as the last three Minotaurs teleported towards her, only to be taken out in a hail of bullets from behind her. Athena turned, seeing Kayla stood with her machine gun, the barrel still smoking a little.

"Nice, is that new?" Athena asked, walking up to her.

"A gift from the Vanguard," Kayla replied. "So…what are you going to do now?"

Athena looked at the gate. "I'm gonna stay here, make sure nothing follows you in," she said, turning to Kayla. "Good luck, Kayla."

"Thanks," Kayla said, walking towards the gate. In her mind's eye she could see the ledge again, her feet teetering over the edge slightly. As she neared the gate, she stopped.

"You nervous?" Athena asked.

"Yup," she replied. "Scared too. There's this itch; go on, go on, go on, go on."

"The urge to jump," Athena chuckled. "An ancient sensation meant to test us, see if we can make it to the next branch as it were."

"No, no, it's much deeper than that," Kayla said, turning to Athena with a grin. "It's the urge to fall."

Ghost appeared beside her. "You ready?"

"No," Kayla replied, taking a deep breath and stepping through the portal.

* * *

 _ **?**_

 _ **?**_

Kayla woke against something cold and rocky. She looked up, quickly getting to her feet, finding herself in a dimly little cavern. It was made of grey stone and covered in vines, grass overgrowing out of the cracks in the floor and it seemed to be fashion like a Vex structure. Kayla groaned, shaking away the aching pain in her head and readying here weapon.

"Ugh, teleporting sucks," Kayla grumbled as Ghost appeared beside her. "Where are we?"

"I don't know…" he murmured, floating around. "Wherever we are, it's not on any known map of time and space…"

Kayla put on her helmet, noticing the digital clock in the corner of her HUD. The seconds were stuck. "I think that's because we're _outside_ time and space…"

Ghost looked at her, then down the cavern. "We need to work quickly then. Lets go."

Kayla set off down the cavern, her footsteps echoing as she pushed onwards. It was cold and Kayla could feel a gentle breeze brushing against her. In the gloom of the cavern she felt a strange sensation. Kayla felt very isolated in this strange place, every shadow making her jump, but she couldn't help but shake the feeling she was being watched. Every corner she turned, every step she took, she could feel _something_ watching her and in the darkness she could swear there were eyes peering out of the walls.

"I don't like this," Kayla said, picking up the pace a little.

"Me neither," Ghost replied. "Something's making my shell shiver."

"Mmm…" she murmured as she turned a corner. "If we can get out of… _oh, my god!_ "

Kayla immediately backed up, aiming her gun as the outlines of Vex Goblins came into view in the gloom. Ghost flew up to them, scanning them, and when they didn't move, Kayla walked up to them. The first thing she noticed was that they were made of stone, and covered in vines. They looked like the hadn't moved in eons.

"Are they dead?" Kayla asked.

"I don't think they were ever alive," Ghost replied quietly. "But I don't think they're for show. Let's move."

Kayla headed through the tunnels as more Vex statues cropped up in the tunnels. Kayla sped up a little, noticing some of the Vex statues were beginning to twitch. As one reached out for her she broke out into a run, firing as the Vex broke free.

"There's a door up ahead!" Ghost shouted over the gunfire. "Go!"

Kayla dashed for an opening in the tunnels, powering through the corridor while destroying any Vex in her way. Throwing a Vortex Grenade to slow them down she dived through the exit, Ghost heading to a panel in the wall and closing the door shut. Like the rest of the cavern it was made of stone.

Kayla got to her feet, panting. As she stood she found herself on a rocky ledge overlooking a garden of roses that seemed to stretch on forever. The sky was an eerie green and Vex structures littered the area. In the centre of the garden was a black, pulsating orb surrounded by half-built Vex gates.

"I think we've found the heart of the Black Garden," Kayla said, reloading her gun.

"The Vex will do everything they can to keep us from destroying it," Ghost said. "We'd better be ready for anything."

Kayla set off along the ridge, keeping an eye out for the Vex, while Ghost looked through his database.

"It seems these Vex are classed as the Sol Divisive," he said. "That's according to our friend."

"Iris contacted you?" Kayla asked.

"Not as such. But my database was updated on our way here, only one person we know has this much knowledge on the Vex."

"So…Sol Divisive?"

"Yes, they're apparently the only Vex that actively engage in religious worship and are central to the Vex's plans here. I think they're meant to be an invading army."

"The Vex worship this thing?" Kayla asked.

"Apparently, when they found the Darkness they decided the best way to harness its power was to worship it," Ghost said, a little concerned. "I'd like to know the circumstances that led to that…"

Kayla looked out at the Black Heart. How powerful was the Darkness if the Vex, creatures that could bend reality to their will, would worship it? As she climbed some rocky stairs she could see a large contingent of Vex defending a barrier. Kayla looked at Ghost, then at the Black Heart again.

"It's gonna be a tough fight," she said, rush towards the Vex.

* * *

 **Next Time:** Kayla arrives at the heart of the Black Garden. Can she overcome the Darkness itself? Find out next time in **Chapter 1-29: The Sol Progeny**


	27. 1-27) Darkness

**A/N:** Plotting for _Curse of Osiris_ is done. I hope that, when we get round to it, you find it (hopefully) a little better than what we got. I made a point to expand the Panoptes fight, making him more of a threat in general. He is a literal god when he's in the Infinite Forest. And I at least attempted to make Argos more relevant to the plot beyond 'Calus sucked up an Axis Mind from Nessus'.

Also, I have a new job. I'm going to try to write in my lunch breaks, and on the bus ride there and back so ideally new chapters should come a little quicker.

Also also, next chapter we start Vault of Glass. Yay.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ , _Destiny 2_ and all their expansions are owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only own Kayla Ashcroft and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 04:** Fruit of the Garden

 **Chapter 27:** Darkness

 _ **The Black Garden**_

Kayla ran down the stairs, crouch behind a corner and peeking out. Nearby was a small squadron of Vex protecting a barrier that led further into the Garden.

"Figures…" Kayla muttered.

"If we take out those Vex we can probably draw out the Mind controlling that barrier," Ghost said.

Kayla nodded in agreement and rushed out, throwing a Vortex Grenade into the squadron of Vex. The machines scattered, the Goblins heading to a cover while the Hobgoblins sniped at her from above. Kayla glided up to the ledge that the Hobgoblins were on, grabbing one to shield herself from Line Rifle fire. The unfortunate Hobgoblin gave a weak squawk as Kayla threw it off the ledge and charged the second Hobgoblin.

The Warlock ducked under the fire of the Vex's weapon and struck in the chest with a Palm Strike. With the Hobgoblin stunned Kayla quickly snuck behind it, grabbing its gun arm and aiming it at the Goblins below her. The Hobgoblin struggled against her as Kayla fire the Line Rifle, lancing the Goblins as they bombarded her with laser fire, machine parts and radiolarian fluid splattering the ground. The Hobgoblin reached its free arm round, grabbed Kayla's left wrist and squeezing, the force of the grip crushing Kayla's wrist.

Kayla screamed in pain, letting go of the Vex. Before the Hobgoblin had a chance to react Kayla booted it in the chest sending it careening to the ground below. Ghost flew up to her and healed her wrist. Before Kayla had a chance to change position a familiar electrical fog filled the area. Kayla readied her machine gun as a large Hydra appeared before her.

"Infection!" the Hydra boomed in a deep, semi-robotic voice. "State your name."

"It talks?" Ghost asked Kayla, who shrugged in response.

" _STATE YOUR NAME!_ " the Hydra bellowed.

"Kayla Ashcroft," Kayla said hesitantly. "I'm a Guardian from Earth." She and Ghost cautiously looked at each other, before Kayla spoke again. "I'm assuming you are an Axis Mind? Or a Sub Mind at least…"

"I am the Divisive Mind, I oversee the protection and defence of the Sol Progeny and their disciples from the heresy of the Flower-Bearer's weapons," the Hydra stated, voice filled with religious fervour.

"Good…" Kayla said, nodding and looking at Ghost. "Good, that…that clears a lot of things up."

There was a brief pause before Kayla opened fire on the Mind with Harm's Way. Bullets ricocheted off the Hydra's chassis as the Mind teleported to a better angle, firing on the Guardian with its Aeon Maul. Kayla jumped off the ledge only to be knocked by the blast of the Maul as it made impact, landing awkwardly on her front. Getting to her knees, and ignoring the pain that shot through her chest, Kayla staggered to a rocky pillar as the Mind fired again.

"Hiding will not give you an advantage, infection," the Mind growled, moving to a new spot.

Ghost appeared next to Kayla. "It may be a Mind, but its still just a Hydra," he said, looking her over.

"Lung…punctured…" Kayla wheezed, point to the spot just below her left breast. "Heal…now…"

Ghost nodded, scanning a light over her chest. Kayla's eyes widened as the Divisive Mind appeared in front of them. Kayla grabbed Ghost and jumped out of the way as the Hydra fired, stumbling from the blast as she ran cover.

"You alright?" Ghost asked, looking up at his Guardian. "You're running awkwardly."

"Chest muscles are still strained," Kayla grunted, letting him go and firing on the Mind again.

This time Kayla focused on the Divisive Mind's eye, the Hydra shaking wildly as the bullets pierced it and radiolarian fluid leaked from its injury. Kayla threw a Vortex Grenade for good measure and the Mind shrieked in pain as the Void ate away at its body, flaky pieces of metal floating into the sky like ash. Kayla watched as milky white guts of the Vex leaked everywhere. While the Hydra struggled to stay afloat Kayla could see an exposed internal core. Kayla aimed Harm's Way and fired, the Divisive Mind roaring in pain, collapsing to the ground as its body lit up.

" _Wake the Sol Progeny!"_ the Mind cried out to the Garden. " _WAKE THE SOL PROGENY!_ "

The pair took cover as the Divisive Mind exploded, shrapnel flying everywhere. A few seconds passed, and Kayla peaked her head out, spoting the barrier was gone. She breathed a sigh of relief before leaning back against a Vex structure as Ghost healed her.

"Not long now," Kayla said quietly, enjoying the brief moment of silence.

Ghost glanced over to the darkness at the centre of the Garden. "Yeah…end of the road…"

"We got this," Kayla said with a faint smile. "I promise."

Ghost nodded, flying to the edge of the ledge. "After this we've got to defeat Atheon," he said. "To stop the future Iris warned us about."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Kayla said, standing up. "Can't hang around here. Come on."

Ghost nodded and flew after Kayla as she pushed further into the Black Garden. After what seemed like forever Kayla came out to a large square pavilion. In three places of the pavilion were Vex machines, forming a triangle around a circular brass platform like the one at the Endless Steps on Venus. At the far side of the plaza was a large brass wall.

"Dead end," Kayla said with a frown.

"The Heart is just beyond here," Ghost said looking around. "This place is just one big machine…Hmm…"

"What is it?"

"I think we can form a spire using these clusters," Ghost explained, flying over to the machine at the 'tip' of the triangle. "Hopefully my experience with Vex tech will pay off."

Ghost scanned the cluster. When he did so a loud cloister bell sound rang through the garden as the cluster began glow. Kayla looked around as the circle brass plate began to glow in response and began constructing the skeleton of a Vex spire.

"I can manipulate these if I can break the manifold encryption," Ghost said idly from the cluster. "You know, for a paracausal, transtemporal race of hyper intelligent machines, they sure have easy security."

"And I'm sure you being a ball of sentient Light has nothing to do with it," Kayla chuckled, watching the spire form. "Well whatever you're doing, it seems to be working."

Once the skeletal structure of the spire was fully formed the cluster disappeared. Ghost turned and flew to the one on the right, scanning it. As Ghost hacked the second cluster the brass plate began constructing the familiar Vex stone blocks around the skeletal spire, another cloister bell ringing out. While Ghost was doing that Kayla frowned.

Something was wrong. It shouldn't be this quiet.

"I don't like this," Kayla said.

"What do you mean?" Ghost asked as he finished hacking the cluster.

" _This_ ," Kayla repeated, motioning to the empty pavilion. "This…eerie silence. Whatever's past this door knows we're here. We haven't had any trouble since we destroyed that Hydra."

Ghost turned to Kayla, then looked away. "I don't like it either. The Vex should certainly be trying to contain us but…its almost as though they're letting us get to the Black Heart."

Kayla looked at the spire while Ghost hacked the final cluster, pulling out the Gate Lord's eye and running her thumb over its lens. The anticipation in her was becoming unbearable and every sensible thought in her was telling her to turn back and run.

"Hey, Ghost?" Kayla asked, turning to her companion.

"Mmm?"

"Is it bad that part of me is…excited to fight this?"

Ghost rolled his eye. "Great, she's gone local," he said, half chuckling.

Kayla giggled a little as the last cloister bell rang out. Ghost flew back to Kayla as a conflux formed in front of the brass door.

"All need is permission to enter…" he said.

"As a Gate Lord," Kayla finished, holding the Gate Lord's eye to the conflux.

The conflux glowed for a second before disappearing. Suddenly a beam of light shot out of the spire and enter the wall. After a few moments a large brass circle that almost looked like a massive clock face appear in the centre of the wall. As the light hummed the wall behind the structure deconstructed into segments, all of which pushed back into eights before crumbling away, leaving only a brass grille keeping the clock face in place. Once the beam disappeared the 'hand' of the clock face spun counter clockwise, removing the bottom segment of the clock. In front of them was a long walkway to the Black Heart. From above they could see it moving around like liquid metal, and the it seemed to physically suck the light from the environment around it.

Kayla stared at it and as she did so she winced, feeling the pulsating glob of Darkness try and rip her Light from her on the spot.

"You feel that?" Kayla asked.

"Yeah," Ghost replied. "I don't think this is the actual Darkness. If it was it would have just ripped the Light from us on the spot."

"So…this is like a fragment?"

"Or shard. Either way, it's still extremely powerful. Be careful."

"Here goes nothing," Kayla said, taking a deep breath and setting off down the walkway. "Or everything."

Kayla set off at a run down the walkway. As she got closer she could see that the centre of the Garden was built like a coliseum with a large brass structure in the very centre that seemed to keep the Black Heart afloat. Beneath it were three Gate Lord statues that a large group of Vex were seemingly worshipping.

Soon Kayla come out to a rocky outcrop in the coliseum wall, staring in awe at the sight below her.

This was it.

The Vex below seemed to realise this since as soon as Kayla arrived the Goblins and Hobgoblins below turned their heads to face her, their eyes glowing an angry red as united murmurs of the Divisive Mind's last orders reverberated around the ring, all in the same semi-robotic hateful voice.

Ghost looked at them, uneasy. Slowly he leaned in to Kayla.

"So…" he said quietly. "Think you can kill a god?

Kayla leaned in to him, the beginnings of a Nova Bomb forming in her palm. "Don't think I have a choice."

Before the Vex had a chance to react Kayla launched the Nova Bomb at them, destroying them in an explosion of blinding purple light. As the dust settled and the smoke cleared Kayla jumped down into the arena, casually stepping over the Vex corpses as she walked to the Black Heart.

 **(Neji- Elfen Lied OST)**

" _This is not your home…little light,"_ came a strange whisper that sounded like multiple voices at once; male and female, young and old, and seemed to emanate from the very Garden itself.

Kayla paused, looking up at the Heart. "I'm believing I am in audience with the Darkness?" she asked.

" _Is that what you call me?_ " the voice asked. " _I have so many names…"_

Kayla stepped backwards as a gaseous piece of the Heart billowed down to her, taking the shape of a Fallen Archon. " _This one calls me the Whirlwind…_ " it continued in a raspy clicking tone that mimicked the Fallen, then taking the shape of a shadowy Vex Goblin. " _The Black Heart,"_ it announced in the Vex's robotic tone before taking the form of what looked to be a menacing winged Hive. " _Or the Deep_."

The form then changed back to a wispy shadow. " _You could not comprehend me. And yet you think you can destroy me? How very laughable._ "

"You destroyed my home," Kayla growled, seething with anger. "You murdered my family! _My little brother!_ "

" _Insignificant,_ " the Darkness said dismissively. " _If he could not defend himself his life was forfeit. It is my right._ "

"Your _RIGHT?!_ " Kayla snarled in anger and disgust. "He was a _CHILD!_ He was _ten years old!_ _Of course he couldn't defend himself!_ "

The Darkness chuckled. " _All that anger…your lost hope…your pain, and your struggle…_ " it said, taking on a familiar shape and voice.

Kayla recoiled in horror as the gas took her shape. It was like looking in a dark mirror. 'Her' robes were torn, 'her' hair a deep midnight blue, 'her' eyes bright green and demonic, and 'her' skin was a deathly pale white. 'Her' thin mouth widened into an unnaturally large grin showing two rows of dagger like teeth.

" _This war is all there is for you…_ " 'she' said, Kayla's voice sounding unnaturally smug and condescending.

Kayla herself aimed her gun as her shadowy double looked down, staggering towards her like a zombie. 'She' continued to speak. " _What else do you have? You walk among mortals and immortals, a creature lost in time. Your only purpose is the struggle. Does that seem fair to you? Does it? To be brought back to this, the end of days…?"_

'Kayla'paused, 'her' arms slowly lifting like that of a marionette as she practically spat her next words. " _The long, dwindling exhalation of an ancient corpse?"_ 'Kayla's' arms flopped down to 'her' sides as 'she' began to shamble towards 'her' double again.

" _You were at peace_ ," 'she' said sadly. " _Now you are a dead husk, charged with war. Do you remember anything of freedom? Consider the choices before you._ "

"I do what I do for the survival of my species!" Kayla protested, her arms shaking.

" _Do you?!_ " the false Kayla demanded, 'her' head snapping upwards and 'her' face contorted in a twisted, sadistic grin as 'she' began to shamble towards Kayla again. " _Or do you just do what Flower-Bringer tells you to do?! You can feel it can't you?! Rattling around in your brain! Guiding you like a sword and plunging you into whatever it perceives as threat!_ "

Kayla froze in place as her double leaned in close, 'her' face now twisted in rage as 'she' spoke." _Well this the truth, Kayla Ashcroft of Earth, what the Flower-Bringer wants and what_ I _want are the same thing, the only difference is the means!_ SHE _will lie to you!_ SHE _will make you think there is such a thing a peace!_ SHE _manipulates her carers into loving her then abandons them to the slaughter, always running, always hiding!_ "

'Kayla' grabbed hold of the other's shoulders, face frowning and speaking in a low growl. " _At least I admit the savagery of the universe. Fight on, then, Kayla Ashcroft of Earth. The war IS everything. And with me…you could become_ PERFECT."

Ghost watched the two in horror at the events unfurling before him. The Darkness was poised like a spider that had just caught its prey as the two girls stared each other down.

" _What do you say?_ " the Darkness asked.

 **(End 'Neji')**

"K-Kayla…?" Ghost stammered.

For Ghost and eternity seemed to pass by. Then out of nowhere Kayla raised her scout rifle, firing into the face of her doppelganger. The Darkness's arms slumped besides 'her', a gaping hole where 'her' right eye should be. Kayla panted in shock and fear, cold sweats running down her spine.

" _So that's how it is,_ " 'Kayla' murmured, turning back into gas and flying towards the statue on the right. " _You brought this on yourself._ "

 **(Excerpt from the Union- Destiny OST)**

The ground began shaking as the statue sunk into the ground, slowly turning into a black metal-plated Gate Lord with a disc shaped head, wisps of darkness billowing from its joints. Slowly it stood, pull its Torch Hammer from its back as it did so.

"Kayla!" Ghost said frantically, flying towards his Guardian. "Kayla, a-are you alright?!"

Kayla shuddered, vacantly looking at Ghost. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine," she said, a little shaken, before looking at the Mind that stood before her. "You think a Gate Lord can stop me?" Kayla shouted, backing up as the Gate Lord slammed its foot down, the shockwave knocking Kayla back into a pillar.

" _The Eschaton Mind foresees your fate if you resist,_ " the Darkness growled. " _Join me or end up like so many others before you._ "

 **THE SOL PROGENY**

 **VESSELS OF THE BLACK HEART**

The gargantuan Mind opened fire on Kayla with its Torch Hammer, kicking up rubble and dust with each blast. Kayla ran for cover and began firing on the Black Heart's host with her PRI, running from cover to cover as the Mind fired again. The Darkness laughed mockingly as the Mind shrugged off the bullets.

" _Petty bullets will do nothing to me,_ " it sneered. " _This is_ my _realm. You will do_ my _bidding here._ "

Kayla ignored the Darkness, jumping up on to one of the raised platforms in the arena. She switched to her Matador. Ghost appeared beside her.

"What are you going to do?" he asked desperately.

"You know when I said I'm making it up as I go?" Kayla asked.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Well, you won't like this," Kayla chuckled, leaping into the air towards the Eschaton Mind.

"What the…?! _Dammit Kayla!_ "

The Eschaton Mind raised its hand, summoning several grey-white gaseous orbs to block her. As Kayla neared one of the orbs it began glowing violently. The Warlock quickly glided out of the way as the orb exploded, sending her fly into another one. Thinking quickly she used the momentum of the blast to flip over the second mine and, when that one exploded, glided off the momentum as she was sent flying towards the Mind.

The Mind tried to swat at her but Kayla managed to grab one of its finger, feeling the rush of the wind as the giant Vex's arm flew through the air. Slowly she steadied herself on its hand and began rushing up towards the Mind's head.

" _I don't think so, Little Light_ ," the Darkness said.

Kayla slowed as pools of black goop appeared on its arm, jumping over one of them. To her surprise a black tendril whipped out of the pool, grabbing her leg and followed swiftly by three more grabbing her other limbs. Kayla screamed out in pain as the began to pull at her in attempt to rip her apart.

" _There, there…_ " the Darkness soothed. " _This is only your punishment. It will be over soon._ "

"Hands off my Guardian!" Ghost yelled, flying to Kayla's aid and unleashing a bright ball of Light that burned away at the tendrils.

Kayla yelped as she slipped down, grabbing on to the Mind's metal chassis as the Darkness screamed in pain.

"I didn't know you could do that!" Kayla gasped as Ghost flew beside her.

"You didn't think we'd be entirely defenceless, did you?" Ghost asked.

With the Darkness distracted Kayla began to climb up the Mind's arm. The Darkness gasped, reeling from the shock of the Light. Before it had a chance to notice, Kayla had reached the Eschaton Mind's shoulder. Steadying herself she fired rapidly with her Matador into the Mind's face.

The Vex stumbled in pain and shock as the shells ripped through its eye. Before the Darkness could do anything Kayla switched to Harm's Way and poured a hail of armour piercing bullets into its face. The Mind shook violently, causing Kayla to fall. Before she had a chance to react the Mind was engulfed in flames, the Darkness screaming like a banshee as the Eschaton Mind exploded.

Kayla landed on the hard ground, watching as the Heart sent another stream of gas into the leftmost statue. Like the Eschaton Mind before it the statue sunk into the ground, turning into a giant metallic grey Gate Lord with a fanned head.

" _Who put you on this path, hmm?!_ " the Darkness asked, irritated as the Imminent Mind stood over Kayla. " _You are strong because of me! Your present is_ my will!"

Kayla ran for her life as the Mind threw a powerful Nova Bomb-like orb of black flames at her position. The bomb exploded, sending fiery globules of darkness everywhere, pools of dark fire littering the ground.

"I make my own destiny!" Kayla shouted back as the flames lapped at her feet. "Not the Traveller or you!"

" _I would like to see you prove that…_ "

"Ghost can you do that thing again?" Kayla asked running as the Imminent Mind fired on her with its Torch Hammer.

"Not yet," Ghost replied, narrowly dodging an explosion from one of the fiery pools. "But I have a plan."

"Do tell!" Kayla said, leaping through the flames and through a Vortex Grenade at the Imminent Mind.

The Darkness roared in pain as the Void Light burned away at the Imminent Mind, melting its chassis. Kayla paused, firing on the Mind with Harm's Way.

"Is your Nova Bomb ready?" Ghost asked.

"Yeah, but I was going to save it for the last statue," Kayla said. "It may be the Darkness, but I don't think the Black Heart is powerful enough to summon all of them at once."

"Yeah, I figure that out too," Ghost said. "Kayla, this may sound crazy, but when you use Nova Bomb throw me with it."

"Are you crazy?!" Kayla asked, avoiding more blasts from the Imminent Mind's Torch Hammer.

"The Nova Bomb is just Light, I'll be fine."

Kayla relented and nodded in agreement before she was knocked over by another exploding pool, landing hard on her shoulder and banging her head. Through her blurred vision she could see more pools explode.

"I…Have an idea…" she grunted, standing and running to a collapsed pillar, ducking behind it as the Imminent Mind threw more fiery orbs everywhere.

" _Where are you?!_ " the Darkness hissed in anger, turning around wildly and firing at random with its Torch Hammer.

"I hope you know what your doing," Ghost whispered as Kayla reloaded her machine gun.

"I always know what I'm doing," Kayla said casually, earning an incredulous look from Ghost.

Kayla quickly stood on the ruined pillar. "Hey, you big dummy!" Kayla shouted.

The Mind turned and glowered at Kayla, its half-melted red eye glowing with anger.

"Really, that's the best you could come up with?" Ghost sighed as another fiery pool exploded behind the pillar, sending the block of stone Kayla was on flying towards the Imminent Mind.

Kayla screamed in fury, firing on the Imminent Mind with Harm's Way. As the stone block got closer, Kayla leaped from it, pushing the block itself into the Mind's head and causing it to stumble as Kayla flipped over it, firing wildly on the Mind. The Darkness gave a bloodcurdling, demonic scream as the Imminent Mind went up in flames, huge chunks of shrapnel flying in to the flames of the battlefield.

Kayla landed in a heap in a bed of red roses. She looked up, seeing the final statue sink into the ground, rock flying everywhere as a pristine-white Gate Lord with a web shaped head stood above the flames.

" _I am eternal! I have existed since before time and space and matter came into being!_ " the Darkness yelled out in fury. " _I am the Perfect Shape!_ _You are blot on my perfect universe!_ YOU ARE AN INFECTION!"

"I think we've found the Primeval Mind," Kayla said, running to the coliseum wall and gliding up to a stone slab that was jutting out of it.

"Be careful!" Ghost warned as the Primeval Mind launched a blast of electrical darkness at her.

A blast from above forced Kayla to jump on to another block as stone came crashing down, melting as the flames grew higher and higher.

"Dammit…" Kayla muttered, pulling herself on to the rocky outcrop and firing on the Primeval Mind with her machine gun.

The Mind roared in pain, firing another electrical blast at her. Kayla leaped up to another exposed block, jumping off the side of it and onto the one directly above her in a move that even Cayde would be proud of. The electrical blast made impact with the wall with a fierce explosion that left a gaping crater. Kayla steadied herself, jumping from block to block as the Mind fired on her with its Torch Hammer.

" _Your god will not save you!_ " the Darkness cried, this time using Kayla's voice. " _Do you know what she tried to do when I arrived? She tried to leave, forcing your kinds hand! The Flower-Bringer didn't save you out of compassion! It was a necessary move to save herself!_ "

Kayla pressed on, ignoring the Darkness as she reached the top of the coliseum wall. She turned to face the Primeval Mind, her robes torn and blooded.

"I don't care about that!" Kayla shouted from the top of lungs. "I don't care if the Traveller tried to leave or not! I don't care if its using us or not! You're a threat to my home! To my friends! You already destroyed us all once, and if it is 'your right' to kill the innocent, then it's _my_ fucking right to kick your arse!"

She quickly grabbed Ghost and began forming a Nova Bomb around him before leaping off the wall. With all her might she threw the biggest Nova Bomb she could muster, falling into the flames below. The Nova Bomb, and Ghost with it, flew to the Primeval Mind. When Ghost could see the deep red glow of its eye her gave off a flare of Light, causing the Nova Bomb to detonate in a bright white explosion. The Primeval Mind collapsed, the Darkness screaming as its last vessel was sent tumbling into the dark flames.

 **(End 'Excerpt of the Union')**

Ghost watched as the flames dissipated. Around him were craters and scorch marks, the coliseum practically destroyed from the battle. As he scanned the battlefield he saw something.

" _Kayla!_ " he cried, flying up to his Guardian.

The Warlock was singed, bruised and bleeding. As Ghost came to her she took off her helmet, taking a deep wheezing breath.

"A-Are we alive?" Kayla asked. "Did we do it?"

" _Well done…_ " the Darkness said.

Kayla's head whipped up, seeing her pale doppelganger shambling before her. She instinctively scrambled for her gun, but the Darkness merely laughed, practically collapsing into a sitting position next to her.

"…What do you want?" Kayla asked, every fibre of her being screaming at her to leave.

The Darkness laughed and shook 'her' head. " _It's a shame…I'm almost jealous of the Flower-Bringer for having such a weapon. The destruction we wrought on this place was_ beau _tiful, haha…_ "

Kayla and the Darkness sat in silence, until the Darkness pointed at the pulsating Heart in the centre of the arena. " _When that goes my foothold in this system goes with it_ ," 'she' explained. " _Your Flower-Bringer can start to heal._ " Then 'she' looked at Kayla. " _I won't forget you, you know that right?_ _I hoped to find a worthy opponent in this little game of mine. You seem like you will forever be a splinter in my side._ "

"I'm only doing what was right," Kayla said. "If I hadn't beat you, you'd have beat me."

" _Is that so?_ " the Darkness asked, giving Kayla a curious look. " _I only lost the Garden._ You _on the other hand lost your family, your life and your home."_ 'She's gave a dark chuckle. " _I'd say your losses are far greater than mine._ "

Kayla thought for a moment. It was true. She couldn't go change the past. But she had a new home, and a new family now.

"Perhaps," she said finally. "But I think that peace under the Traveller is better than your interpretation of peace."

" _Do you honestly believe that?_ " the Darkness chuckled in a curious tone.

Kayla leaned in close, glaring at her double. "If it were up to you, you'd coil your followers into a gladiator ring," Kayla growled. "Blind to all logic, dulled beyond reason and sapped of everything but despair. So with everything I've seen of the Collapse and this world….yeah, I _do_ believe that."

The Darkness stared at Kayla, before giving a faint smile and a small laugh. Slowly 'she' fell backwards as 'she' began to dissipate. " _You wear your convictions well,"_ the Darkness said. " _They suit you…_ "

As soon as the false Kayla disappeared into gas the Black Heart began to pulsate rapidly, shaking violently.

"This isn't good," Ghost said as light from within the Heart broke out. "It's gonna…!"

Before Ghost could finish the pair were enveloped in a bright light, blinding them both.

-*GR*-

"…Explode!" Ghost shouted.

Kayla shielded her eyes from the light. She could feel sand beneath her. She didn't remember sand in the Black Garden.

"Hey!" came a female voice.

Kayla instinctively got up and reached for her gun, aiming it in the direction the voice came from.

"Woah, easy! Easy!" the voice said.

Kayla felt hands grab her shoulders. As her vision came back to her she could make out the outline of Athena.

"W-Where are we?" Kayla asked, rubbing her eyes and blinking quickly.

"We're back…" Ghost said, looking at the massive Vex gate overlooking the Valley of Kings. "On Mars..."

Kayla stumbled to her feet, helped up by Athena. Around her were the quiet sands of Meridian Bay and staring down at her was the Vex gate that led to the Black Garden.

"That thing shut down shortly before you appeared," Athena explained. "Thought you were stuck in there."

Kayla stood, staring over the cliff in shock at the battle she had just won. Ghost floated next to her.

"W-We did it," he said in disbelief.

"Yeah," Kayla nodded, just as stunned.

"I…I made the right choice," Ghost said, looking at Kayla. If he was able to smile Kayla was sure he would be.

"Come on," Kayla said, petting Ghost. "Let's go home.

-*GR*-

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **The Last City**_

 _ **Tower Plaza**_

It was a bright mid-September morning and the Tower plaza was packed to the brim with Guardians of all races, ages and classes. Before them was a large metal stage that housed a single podium and around the stage were several film crews broadcasting to the City below. Kayla peeked out from behind the stage, nervous.

"I can't do this…" she said, to Ghost.

"You just defeated the Black Heart, I'm fairly sure you can stand in front of a crowd," Ghost said, peeking out as well.

"Yeah but…I'm not important or special, I just did what I had to do," Kayla whispered quickly.

Ghost stared at her. "Kayla, I think you could becoming the most important Guardian in history," he said, the blunt honesty catching Kayla off guard.

"No…" Kayla said, half-smiling. "I'm just doctor. I help people. It's what I do."

Ghost looked at her proudly as Zavala came up to her.

"Kayla," he said. "The Speaker is ready for you."

Kayla nodded and took a deep breath before slowly walking out to join the Speaker on the stage. The crowd began to murmur and whisper at the sight of her, several of them cheering when they saw her.

"Thank you for joining me," the Speaker said to her before turning to face the crowd.

 **(Guardian- Destiny OST)**

"Ladies, gentleman and variations thereupon," the Speaker began. "Today I stand before you for what feels like the first time in years. When this City was founded we were still crawling out of the Dark Age, still lost in a broken and ruined world. For centuries we feared the Darkness's return. We sought to hide and cower beneath a broken god. We sought to look inwards. We sought to only focus on our own survival. But no more.

"When we came together the forces of the Darkness moved to stop us, attacking the very walls of our home. When the Battle of Twilight Gap happened, few thought we would win. Fewer still thought we would survive for as long as we have since then. But time and again we have proved the Darkness wrong. You know the legends: Rezyl Azzir, Saint-14, Ana Bray, the Iron Lords. And today I believe another is standing before us all."

Kayla felt a knot in her stomach, turning bright red at the mention of her name.

"Since her arrival she has proved time and again her strength and her concern for our home. She has not only weakened the House of Devils. She has freed a shard of the Traveller from the Hellmouth, given us a foothold on Mars once more and has stopped an encroaching Vex army from conquering our home. And most importantly…" he said, turning to her. "She has given me hope."

As the Speaker turned back to the crowd the murmurs and cheering grew louder and louder. Kayla looked at the Speaker and smiled. He was right. This was her home now. She was a true Guardian of Earth.

"Speech!" came a cry from the crowd, followed by more voices in agreement.

"Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech!"

"O-Oh!" Kayla gasped in shock.

"Kayla, would you do me the honour?" the Speaker asked, stepping aside.

Kayla hesitantly stepped up to the podium to the cheer of the crowd. She quickly held up her hand, quietening them.

"Um…hello, everyone," she started. "I'm…I'm not one for big speeches, so I'm just going to speak from the heart. I sure a few of you here know me personally…"

" _Woo! Kayla Ashcroft!_ " came the voice of Jaeger from somewhere in the crowd.

"Haha, yeah, exactly! And I'm sure most of you have at least heard rumours of my past…" Kayla looked down and took a deep breath. "I was present in the Cosmodrome during the Collapse. I saw first hand what the Darkness's soldiers could do. I lost my parents and my little brother in the chaos that day. When I came to this City I thought my life was over.

"But thanks to a few Guardians I have met on my journey I wouldn't be here today giving this speech. Just has the Speaker said I have given him hope, these Guardians gave me the hope to carry on when my life hit rock bottom."

Kayla's face lit up into a grin. "I can say I'm proud to call them my friends. It's because of them I had the strength and determination to fight all these threats. They have shown me what we are, what we have always been, and what we will be again. We are what remains of the Light!" Kayla shouted. " _And we will not be stamped out!_ "

 **(End 'Guardian')**

The excitement in the crowd reached fervour pitch as the cheering grew louder and louder, Guardians hugging and cheering each other on. Kayla grinned, turning to the Speaker who gave a firm nod.

With crowd occupied and music starting up Kayla quickly snuck away from the stage, her heart racing from her nerves. Since most of the Plaza seemed to be filled with partying Guardians Kayla headed to the hangar, thinking about what to do next. The Speaker was right. It had only been two months and she had done so much already. But there was something that still troubled her.

"It's a day for pretty speeches and medals," a voice from the shadows said, making Kayla jump.

The Warlock turned to find Iris stepping out of an alcove. "Oh, it's you," Kayla smiled in relief.

Iris returned the smile. "You've done something I never thought was possible…"

"But the Atheon's still out there," Kayla sighed, concerned.

"Then you know what to do."

"Can't you give any help?"

"I'm sorry…" Iris said quietly with a shake of her head. "I…I genuinely don't know how to defeat him…That's something you'll have to figure out on your own. But…I can tell you this…"

Kayla's face faltered when the Exo looked down, tears falling down her metal cheek. "Y-You…you have no idea how much this means to me!" Iris cried out, giving Kayla a sad smile. "I lost so much to t-these machines. I-I didn't think t-that there was any hope to defeat them...when m-my commander threw me i-into this universe I had nothing left…I was so scared and alone…" Iris wiped her eyes, composing herself. "But you stood in defiance of them! You proved they can be beaten! Because of you I have hope. Thank you. For everything."

"Stay here," Kayla said abruptly, shocking Iris. "With us. We could use your help."

"I can't…" Iris started.

"Oh, go on!" Kayla grinned.

"No, I really can't," the Exo insisted. "I have my own path to walk on. And I need to sort my own head out."

The two women stood in silence before Kayla gave a slow nod.

"I understand," she said.

"Before I go, I want you to have this," Iris said, placing her personal rifle in Kayla's hands.

"O-Oh, no I can't accept this," Kayla stammered.

"It was yours to begin with," Iris said with a grin that looked exactly like hers. "I'm simply returning it."

Kayla looked at the gun then nodded. Iris smiled then walked to the edge of the hangar bay. "The Darkness won't take kindly to you destroying the Black Heart," she shouted, turning back round. "And when you reach the Vault of Glass, be careful. The Vex are like gods in that realm."

"I'll try not to die!" Kayla quipped, earning a laugh from Iris. "Let's meet again someday."

Iris looked at Kayla stunned. Slowly she smiled. "Yeah…I'd like that."

The Exo gave one last salute before opening a Vex portal. "Ma'am. Farewell."

Kayla smiled and saluted the Stranger as she jumped in, the portal snapping shut behind her.

* * *

 **Next time:** Kayla and her friends unite to take on the toughest challenge they have faced in **Chapter 1-30: Fireteam Storm**.


	28. 1-28) Fireteam Storm

**A/N:** So the _Warmind_ reveal stream happened. Thoughts? Opinions? Hyped? Not hyped? Do you like the fact the Hive are coming back? What do you think of Nokris being a villain? Would you rather have had a brand new enemy faction?

I personally thought the Hive were being saved for September, since I genuinely thought Savathûn would be the next major threat. Leave your thought in a review if you so wish.

Or don't. Cos that's cool too.

So this chapter a little heavy in terms of content, but I wanted the 'get the team together' part of this arc to be somewhat meaningful and not like LFG.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ , _Destiny 2_ and all their expansions are all owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only own Fireteam Storm and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 05:** The Vault of Glass

 **Chapter 28:** Fireteam Storm

 _ **Earth**_

 _ **The Last City**_

 _ **Tower**_

It was around midnight and Kayla's victory party showed no signs of slowing down. Even so, Kayla herself had snuck out several hours ago and retreated to her room for as much quiet as she could get. While she was grateful, if a little embarrassed for a party in her honour, the young Voidwalker would have preferred a quiet get together with the friends she'd made, rather than being shown off to the Tower and the City below via the news.

She hadn't even had time to relax since her return as it turned out that the Vanguard (though Kayla suspected it was purely Cayde) had insisted on having the stage pre-built for her return. If she was entirely honest she was surprised the Vanguard had that much faith in her (though Kayla suspected it was purely Cayde) and was fairly moved by the gesture. Even so, it was nice to return to normality.

"Uuugh, bed…" Kayla groaned, putting on shorts and a tank top before literally crashing on to her bed. "It feels sooo goooood."

"Interesting…very interesting…" Ghost murmured.

"Can you be quiet?" Kayla grumbled. "I need sleep."

"Sorry, I'm just looking at the rifle Iris gave you," Ghost said apologetically.

The rifle was gold and black and seemed to be a mishmash of other guns. The body was evidently Suros made, while the trigger appeared to have come from some sort of revolver. The magazine slotted into the back end of the weapon and had several cable that led to some sort of tube-like device under the barrel. The barrel itself was thick and triangular, with three silver rings around it.

"It's…it's a work of art," Ghost gasped. "The technology, the materials…it has parts that just shouldn't even exist yet…whoever built this was a genius."

"Uh huh, that's great…" Kayla yawned, snuggling her spare pillow.

Ghost turned back to his Guardian "All that's left now is…"

The small drone paused in disbelief, watching the snoring form of Kayla sleep peacefully and debating whether to wake her. In the end he decided against it and allowed her this moment of rest. They both needed it. With a small sigh Ghost switched off the bedroom light then positioned himself on Kayla's desk, looking through the Tower's records on the Vault of Glass. Ghost felt he needed all the help they could get.

* * *

 _ **Later…**_

A knock on the door prompted Kayla to stir. She looked up slightly before burying her face in her pillow again. A second, louder knock on the door caused Kayla to sit up straight. Without think she grabbed Iris' rifle and pointed at the door, panting in shock and fear. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness she remembered she was in her room. In the Tower.

Safe.

The person knocked at the door again, several times now.

"Who is it?" Kayla asked, rubbing sleep from your eyes.

"It's your favourite Vanguard member!" the person on the other side replied in a cheery voice.

"…Shaxx?"

"No! It's your old buddy, Cayde!"

"Oh…"

"What do you mean, 'oh'?" Cayde grumbled. "After all we've been through together!"

Kayla swung her legs out of bed, the pair laughing before Cayde's drifted off a little. It was unlike him to just trial off like that and the notion troubled Kayla, alarming bells ringing off in her head.

"Listen…" Cayde said finally, though it was evident in his voice that he didn't want to do this. "While you were…You're going…." Then he gave an unusually frustrated sigh. "I hate asking this of a rookie…"

"What is it?" Kayla asked, a little anxious.

"The Vex…there's only one with we have to do now, and…" There was another sigh, Cayde's voice unusually grim. "Well, I'm sure you know what that is."

With that sentence Kayla felt a crushing weight land on her shoulders. "Yeah…" she murmured. "Give me five minutes to get dressed."

"Perfect! I'll see you at the Hall of Guardians."

Once she heard the Hunter leave Kayla sighed. So much for that much needed sleep. Kayla grabbed her pants, glancing at Ghost as she put them on. He was asleep under a book and the Voidwalker couldn't help but chuckle at the drone's sleeping form. After putting her robe on she went the desk, gently prodding Ghost.

"Hey, little guy," she said softly. "Wake up."

"Huh?…What time is it?" Ghost yawned, shaking the book off him.

Kayla giggled, scooping her friend up in the palm of her hands. Ghost looked up at her. She seemed happy, but something was troubling her. He could see it in her eyes, and it worried him. The lack of knowledge worried him even more, it was frustrating that there seemed to be virtually no information on the Vault of Glass in any of the Tower's textbooks.

Kayla sighed a little. "I think it's time," she replied, her face a little sombre.

Ghost's eye widened as he floated upwards, an apprehensive silence between the pair. Finally, Ghost nodded in understanding. "Yes. Yes, I think it is."

* * *

Kayla entered the Vanguard hall, confident and determined. The room was empty save for Zavala, Ikora and Cayde and something told Kayla that her next mission was going to be 'off the records', not unlike what the Hidden did. Zavala was the first to notice Kayla, motioning to the arguing Ikora and Cayde to be quiet. Both glanced up, falling silent at Kayla's presence.

"Guardian, welcome back," Zavala said, his tone professional but belayed the truth of what he wanted to say. "And congratulations on slaying the Black Heart. To be honest, when you came to me with news from Venus…about what this…Stranger asked of you, I wasn't sure a rookie Guardian could pull it off…and yet, time and again, you have proved me wrong at every step. Thank you, Kayla, for all your help."

"U-uh…you're welcome?" Kayla asked, flattered and embarrassed. "I mean, it's nothing really…"

"I'd take the compliment," Ikora chuckled. "That's the nicest I've seen Zavala speak to someone."

"If it's any consolation, _I_ always believed in you," Cayde said, pointing to himself for effect making Kayla laugh.

"In any case…" Zavala started, straightening up some papers. "Our scouts on Venus have reported an increase in Vex activity around the same time you left for the Black Garden, especially around…."

"The Vault of Glass," Kayla gasped in horror.

"I'm afraid so. And that can only mean one thing: the Vex in the Vault are preparing to move on the system."

' _Their Oracles started to wipe everything out…_ ' Iris's voice said, echoing through Kayla's head.

"The only thing of note we have on the Vault of Glass is Kabr's journal," Zavala continued. "A realm where time fluctuates like the ebb and flow of the sea, Vex that can erase you from existence, stars that decide whether you are real…it's insane…"

"And fascinating," Ikora chimed in, earning a stern look from Zavala. "Sorry," she said sheepishly.

Kayla felt a lump form in her throat, her mind reeling as Iris' fear came crashing down on her. The Vanguard didn't know how much danger they, no…the whole universe was in. If the Vex were able to leave the Vault…should she tell them? Could she? Would they panic? How could she defeat Atheon?

"Kayla?" Zavala said, abruptly snapping Kayla out of her thoughts. "Still with us?"

"U-Uh, yes, Commander!" she said quickly.

Zavala eyed her before continuing. "Judging by your reaction to our mentioning of this we were right to choose you."

"I-I'm sorry?" Kayla asked, a little taken aback by this.

"You… _knew_ we'd pick you for this, right?" Cayde asked back.

"I mean…I had to go there anyway."

"Indeed," Zavala said with a nod. "Ikora?"

Ikora sighed, presenting Kayla with a photo of Iris. "This is the Exo Stranger," she started.

"Iris," Kayla corrected, surprising the Vanguard. She looked at them, repeating herself. "Her name's Iris."

"Well…" Ikora said, glancing at Zavala before continuing. "Regardless, she's been sighted numerous times whenever our Guardians encounter the Vex, most notably the Vault of Glass. Kabr even writes about her in his journal."

"Almost like she's some sort of omen," Cayde said bitterly with a shake of his head.

"But she's not-!" Kayla protested but Zavala held up his hand.

"That doesn't matter now, Kayla," he said. "The point is you have had the most interaction with her out of everyone. You've survived to tell the tale, and I'm sure you know more about what lies in the Vault of Glass than any of us."

"Which means _you_ ," Cayde said, clasping his hands and pointing at Kayla. "Are the one best suited for this task."

"We require a fireteam of six," Zavala continued. "Normally it would be premade however…given the circumstances we've decided that you know who you work with best."

Kayla stared at them in disbelief, looking at Ghost in shock. He was just as surprised as Kayla was. The Voidwalker turned back to the Vanguard, her words stuck in her throat. Ikora stifled a giggle, while Zavala smiled.

"A-Are you saying…" Kayla said slowly. "I'm leading my own fireteam?"

"Yes, we are," Cayde said, mimicking her. "Go gather them, Captain Kayla."

* * *

 _ **Elsewhere…**_

The City's market district was busy and bustling, filled with exotic smells and vendors of every kind selling all sorts of wares ranging from food to clothes to weapons to pets. It was a sunny September morning and Hayley-13 was taking some down time to relax. It felt so good to be wearing something other than her Warlock robes and she had bought the orange flowery sundress she was wearing just for her next free day.

"Excuse me, little lady!" a portly vendor with a magnificent moustache shouted, catching Hayley's attention. She looked around quickly, before putting to herself. "Yes you, you adorable mecha girl!"

Hayley blushed a little as she walked up to the vendor. The stall in question was a flower stall and the Exo was soon overwhelmed by the fresh, aromatic scents that wafted from the stall. Rich red flowers lined the front, going up to vivid oranges and bright yellows eventually merging with deep blues and purples, the beauty soothing Hayley as she looked up and down the stall's shelves and tables. The vendor chuckled as Hayley went from table to table, taking in the scents and aromas of the merchandise.

"You strike me as chrysanthemum lover," the man said when Hayley gravitated to the orange flowers.

Hayley nodded, picking up one of the bouquets. "It's my favourite flower," she said with a smile, looking over the bouquet. "They're so well cared for. It's obvious how much they mean to you."

"In this day and age, we all need something to hold onto," the vendor said wistfully. "My wife had a garden when she…" The man quickly wiped his eye, a look of sadness washing over his face. His wife was someone he evidently didn't talk about much. "Well, she always said flowers can bring joy to everyone," he said chipperly.

Hayley slowly smiled. "I'm sure she'd be proud of you, sir," she said. "I'll take this bouquet."

"Ah, that'll be thirty Glimmer then."

Hayley reached into her bag and reached in to pull out her purse when she spotted a familiar face in the crowd. Kayla, in a punky red tartan skater dress, was busy looking around the market. The way she walked gave off a sense of urgency and she looked troubled, however she seemed to be getting distracted by the food stalls. Hayley quickly paid the man, taking the flowers and running up to Kayla.

"Kayla, hi!" she shouted.

Kayla turned, facing lighting up when she saw Hayley. "Hey!" she said with a grin, quickly turning to vendor. "I'll have the XL hot dog with grilled onions and ketchup."

"So, uhm…what brings you here?" Hayley asked, watching Kayla greedily grab the hot dog.

"Actually," Kayla said, taking a bite out of it. "I was looking for you."

"F-For m-me?!" Hayley gasped in surprise. "W-Why would you want…m-me?"

Kayla looked around before grabbing Hayley's wrist, dragging her to a nearby alleyway. Hayley was a little afraid of Kayla's out of character moment. She hoped it was nothing bad. When Kayla was sure that they hadn't been followed and the coast was clear she sighed.

"The Vanguard want me to lead a raid on the Vault of Glass," Kayla explained with a grim seriousness in her tone. "I want you to be on the team."

Hayley's eyes widened in shock. That was something she wasn't expecting and, judging by the fact that Kayla's face was near deadpan, Kayla wasn't joking.

"B-B-but what if I-I screw up?" Hayley said quickly, fear evident in her voice. "A-A raid is a big deal and I'm not t-that great. T-Things could g-g-go so wrong, and I-I don't want to cause someone's death. T-The Vanguard have o-only just started l-letting me go on strikes, and-"

She stopped when Kayla grabbed her shoulders, staring intently at her. "You remember what Argus told you before the Phogoth strike?"

' _We've all made mistakes as Guardians. But if you let yourself be ruled by them you'll never progress. Living in fear is no way to live._ '

Hayley bit the bottom of her lip, then let out a long sigh. "Ok," she said. "I'll-"

" _Hey!_ _Hey whaddaya think ya doing?!_ " an angry voice yelled from the alley's entrance.

Both girls turned to find Crusher, Hayley's ghost, flying towards them, his eye filled with rage. The ghost flew right in to Kayla's face. "Oh, I see how it is," he growled. "You befriend my Guardian and then _manipulate her into giving you her innocence!_ "

"What? No!" Kayla shouted back. "I was asking her to help me with a secret mission!" Kayla glanced at Hayley, who was covering her face in embarrassment. "I don't even want to know how that works…" she added.

"Oh, is that how you're swinging it?!" Crusher snapped. "Well I don't buy it!"

"Crusher, stop this!" Hayley shouted, stunning the ghost.

Crusher glanced at Kayla, then flew to Hayley like a naughty child.

"As I was saying," Hayley said. "I'll join you."

Kayla grinned. "Perfect!"

* * *

 _ **Midtown**_

It was midmorning and the sun was shining down over one of the City's many winding rivers. In one corner, nestled on a grassy plaza between two buildings, was a small crowd. In the centre was an Awoken man with a black quiff playing a guitar, the music making the people dance to a funky almost gospel beat.

" _Ooo, come a little closer, it's a feeling that I can't deny_

" _Oh, I was weak but I never thought I'd speak about the darker side_

" _Ooo, is that a tent? I could repent upon the side of the road_

" _Oh, but I kept on going. Yeah, I headed for another low_

" _I get up from the ground in the middle of the morning_

" _Up from the ground in the middle of the evening_

" _Up from the ground in the middle of the night_

" _Ohh, I Testify."_

Flying around was a sparkly pink ghost exciting the crowd, encouraging them to dance and attempting to convince them to donate glimmer to the busker. Further down the street, following the sound of the man's crispy, throaty, lyrical, European-tinged singing was Kayla. She was bobbing her head along to the tune and singing along quietly.

"I didn't know Jaeger could sing," Ghost said. "I didn't know you knew the song too."

"It's an old pre-Golden Age song," Kayla said. "And I didn't know he could either. The man is always full of surprises."

Reaching the crowd Kayla pushed her way to the front, apologising quickly every so often. Once there she could see Jaeger in a pinstripe suit having the time of his life. The sheer joy this man got from making music was plain to see and it invigorated Kayla and the crowd to dance more.

"He's good!" Ghost said, bobbing along.

After around five minutes the song was over Jaeger stood up and bowed as the crowd broke into applause.

"Thank you, thank you!" he shouted with a smile, almost sliding up to an Exo woman and kissing her hand, a rose appearing in his mouth. "My fair maiden, if I could have your name I will dedicate an entire set of songs to you. Your beautiful eyes, your soft and exquisite lips, your delicate hands, your precious legs…"

"Where did he got the rose from?" Ghost whispered.

"I don't know," Kayla replied with a shrug before shouting. "Hey Jaeger!"

"Your beautiful, spectacular and divine…" Jaeger said, trailing off when he saw Kayla. "Excuse me, madam, Guardian business." Jaeger gently placed the rose in the woman's hand, prompting her to giggle, before jogging up to Kayla.

"Well, if it isn't the Traveller Saviour," he greeted.

"I never thanked you for the help with the Gate Lord," Kayla said with a smile.

"Ahhh don't mention it," Jaeger said. "You ended up saving the Traveller because of it, that's thanks enough."

"Bit over the top," Kayla laughed as the pink ghost flew up to them. "Hey, Cheryl."

"What _were_. _YOU. DOING?!_ " Cheryl yelled at Jaeger, quickly turning to a stunned Kayla. "Kayla, dear, it is _lovely_ to see you again, we should catch up over wine." Then she turned back to Jaeger, glaring at him.

"I was just saying hello," Jaeger said sheepishly, earning a zap from Cheryl. " _Hey!_ "

"No flirting with the audience members!" Cheryl shouted, shaking her head. "Honestly, I don't know why I put up with you…"

Jaeger chuckled turning to Kayla. "What can I do for you?"

Kayla's face turned uncharacteristically serious catching Jaeger off guard. Once the ground was dispersed Kayla walked up to him, speaking in a low whisper.

"The Vex haven't been defeated yet," she said. "I'm putting together a fireteam to stop them."

Jaeger looked at Cheryl. "Gee, I don't know. Fighting Zydron was very taxing, and you want my help again?" Cheryl frowned at him, making the Hunter grin. "Of course I'll join you."

* * *

 _ **A rooftop…**_

As the sun grew higher and the day gradually grew hotter a calmness settled over the City. It was something that Shifter-45 hadn't seen in years and he's was both grateful for Kayla's actions and secretly glad he had trusted her. She'd be an excellent Guardian to work alongside. A little immature and evidently led by her heart, but an excellent Guardian nonetheless. He looked up at the Traveller. It seemed a little brighter today.

Shifter chuckled to himself and continue cleaning his 1000 Yard Stare. His ghost, Sebastian, flew up to him and settled himself beside him, resting his eye.

"It's peaceful," Sebby said.

"Yeah," Shifter agreed gruffly, wiping the barrel of the rifle down.

"It's nice to rest easy for once."

Shifter nodded, closing his eyes and thinking back to his old friend, Kabr. It was hard to believe that a rookie Guardian could have accomplished something he didn't: delaying the Vex. The Nightstalker shook his head, a sad chuckle escaping him.

"You ok?" Sebby asked, looking up at him.

"Just thinking about Kabr. I miss him."

"I know."

"…Do you think Kabr could have survived?" Shifter asked, trying his best not to let his emotions get the best of him. "Do you think he could've stopped the Vex if he got another chance? If I went down in that damn Vault instead of him, could I have stopped whatever was in there."

"Why don't we find out?" came a woman's voice from behind.

Turning around Shifter saw Kayla behind him. She was stood with Ghost beside her, a fierce determination on her face. After a moment she spoke again. "The Vanguard want me to raid the Vault of Glass. What do you say?"

Shifter thought for a moment, standing before Kayla. The pair stood in silence as the wind blew gently against them.

* * *

 _ **A downtown bar…**_

It was early afternoon and a certain bar on a certain street of the downtown distract was unusually packed for this time of day. Rumours had spread around the district that a former Sunbreaker mercenary was at this bar challenging anyone who dared to outdrink her, demanding payment from anyone who couldn't. The rumour had spread like wildfire and as such the bar was heaving, all of them centred around a table. On one side was a bedraggled man that seemed to be on the cusp of passing out. On the other was a toned, Mediterranean woman with a flushed face. On both sides of the table were piles of empty glass steins.

"You give up yet?" the woman asked, smirking.

"How…how can you drink so much…?" the man said, almost on the verge of tears. "It's been two hours!"

"Listen, _Vecchio_ ," Athena said, slamming another stein on the table. "I'm one of the Sunbreakers and they're all big, burly macho men that enjoy drinking, fighting and comparing each others _cazzi_. You learn to one up people like that, and you certainly don't compare!" the Titan gave a hearty laugh before leaning in close, speaking in a deadly voice. "Now pay up!"

"B-But, I don't have the Glimmer…" the man said weakly.

"He doesn't have the Glimmer!" Athena repeated aloud to the baying crowd, dramatically hold her arms up.

" _Boooo!_ " the crowd jeered.

Athena turned to the man. He was openly sobbing and obviously so drunk he couldn't think coherently. She almost felt bad for him.

Almost. A bet was a bet.

"Athena, what are you doing?"

Athena turned quickly. At the front of the crowd was Kayla, he looked a little annoyed by what was going on.

"Hey, runt," Athena said with a smile. "What're you doing here?"

"Well, I was looking for you actually," she replied. "I heard there was a drinking contest and you were around here so…yeah." She slowly peered over Athena's shoulder at the sobbing man. "Didn't think you'd be extorting people though."

"Ah, it's not like that!" Athena protested.

"Oh, it's totally like that," Owl said nonchalantly from another table.

Both women turned to look at him. He was reading with a beer glass with a straw next to him. Kayla didn't want to think how much of a drinker Athena's ghost was if he was anything like his Guardian. Athena turned and gave Kayla a sheepish grin. The Warlock folded her arms in response.

"Well?" Kayla asked.

"E-Excuse me!" the drunk man whimpered, holding up a ring. It was platinum and with sapphires encrusted to it. Athena noticed a similar one with rubies on his right ring finger.

"What?" Athena asked, slouching her stance a little.

"T-This is all I have…" the man hiccupped. "M-My husband and I…we were travelling here three years ago…i-it's all I have left b-but…I don't want to piss of a Guardian…"

Kayla looked at the guy, then Athena. Around her neck was silver chain with Artemis' engagement ring on it. Athena herself looked as though someone had just ran a bulldozer over her emotionally, the reminder of the pain and the guilt of making the man do this was written all over her face.

"Tch!" Athena said, gritting her teeth. "Keep it!"

"W-Whu…?"

" _I said keep it you dumb fuck!_ " she bellowed again, turning to the disappointed crowd. "And you lot can fuck off as well!" she shouted, barging her way through them.

Kayla followed her outside. To her surprise Athena was crouched over, clutching her chest. Her breathing deep and erratic.

"C-Can't breathe…" Athena said, gasping for air as though she were suffocating. "I can't breathe…!"

Kayla ran up to her. "Easy," she said softly. "You're having a panic attack."

The Warlock guided her friend to a nearby bench, sitting her down then crouching before her and hold her hands. "Breath with me, ok?" she said. "In….and out…in….and out…"

Athena nodded, matching her breathing with Kayla's. The Warlock nodded reassuringly. Athena watched Kayla stroke the backs of Athena's hands with her thumbs but the Titan couldn't feel anything except numbness, as though they'd been weighed down with something. The feeling around her mouth was going as well, sending the Titan into more of a panic.

"Focus, Athena," Kayla said. "Focus on my voice, focus on what you can smell, taste, and what you can see."

Athena nodded, focusing on the soothing sound of her voice. Around her were the smells of homecooked roasts, pies and fish and chips all meshing into a confused but delicious scent. Around her were families, laughing and enjoying a day out with the children. On her tongue she could still taste the bitterness of the beer she had downed.

She could kick herself for that.

After what felt like an eternity the Sunbreaker felt her hands and mouth return to normal, and the tightness in her chest slowly went away as though a bowling ball had just been lifted.

Athena sat in silence for a while before she spoke up. "God, I feel terrible…" she said sadly, her voice hoarse.

"Don't worry about it," Kayla said, plopping herself next to the Titan. "It's over and done with now."

"So…What can I do for you?"

Kayla fiddled with her fingers, then sighed. "I'm going to raid the Vault of Glass. I need a team with people I can count on."

Athena looked up at the sky, then sighed. "I suppose I should do something more productive gamble and drink," she said with a small laugh. "Sign me up."

* * *

 _ **A park…**_

Delta strolled through the grassland taking in the mid-afternoon sun. It was quiet, lazy days like this he would sometimes stroll and see the sights of the City. Although he'd done these trips more than once since he arrived Delta always found something new to find. This was one of them: a large sculpture park hidden out of the way near the North Wall. Sculptures of all kinds were on display here, some of them going as far back as the Renaissance and, although they were heavily damaged, they were still beautiful to look at.

' _Look at you…_ ' a familiar voice sneered. It was a voice that had been with him since he came to the City. ' _You were feared once, and now look at you…staring at_ art _of all things…what happened to you?_ '

Delta continued onwards, sticking its headphones on to block out the surrounding noise. The voice was still speaking. Even though he couldn't hear it he could still feel the niggling pain in the back of his head that reminded him of its presence. It was a reminder of his own inner darkness. The one he'd forgotten, but the feeling of which still lingered in the back of his mind.

The Titan focused on Sal, who was busy flitting from one sculpture to another in awe. He laughed a little. Sal might be naïve and childlike, Delta almost considering her a little sister due to the way she acted sometimes, but she was a ray of hope in a dark world. Since she'd resurrected him Sal had given Delta a renewed sense of hope, whether the timid ghost realised it or not. Sal turned around, her eye lighting up as she motioned behind him. Delta turned, taking his headphones off. There was someone else who had given him hope.

' _Oh…it's_ her…' the voice said bitterly before going silent.

"Hey Kayla," Delta said. "Long time no see."

"I didn't take you for an art lover," Kayla chuckled.

"I'm not," Delta replied. "But it's nice for Sal to get out and about. Plus, I like exploring the City. There's so much to do here!"

"Tell me about it," Kayla grinned.

"Hey, Ghost!" Sal said, flying up to the white drone. "I heard you kicked the Darkness's butt yesterday!"

"Well, I wouldn't quite put it like that," Ghost said. "But it truly was an epic battle, where the bond of my Guardian and me were tested like never before."

Sal gasped, flying closer to him. "R-Really?"

"Oh, of course!" Ghost said, flying off to a statue with Sal. "Let me tell you all about it."

The pair of Guardians watched their ghosts fly off, Ghost regaling a dramatic version of the events in the Black Garden. Delta turned to Kayla and shrugged.

"That's…that's not what happened at all," Kayla sighed with a shake of her head.

"Do tell."

Kayla thought for a moment. "Well, I'm pretty sure I was outside the space-time continuum as a _start_. The Vex there were living statues, they sound a lot like Daleks now that I think about it. Oh, and the Darkness possessed three Gate Lords to fight me."

"Wow, only Gate Lords?" Delta asked, unimpressed.

"Yeah, that's what I thought!" Kayla laughed. "Big eldritch… _thing_ that destroyed the Golden Age. Attacks me by possessing a Gate Lord. So disappointed!"

"Anything else?"

"Well, the Darkness was quite affable, which was a surprise."

Delta made a face. "Really?" he asked sceptically.

"Yeah, it said it admired my convictions," Kayla replied with a shrug.

"Wow, that's deep."

Kayla nodded. "Oh, I forgot!" she said, pulling two ice creams from behind her back and Delta one.

"Nice!" Delta said, taking it and licking the top. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I need a fireteam and you are on my list," Kayla said, eating her own ice cream.

"Don't tell me," Delta said, holding his free hand up. "The Vex are still out there and are going to cause the end of the world as we know it."

"Yep."

"Lots of dangerous Axis Minds and a less than five percent survival chance?"

"Most likely."

Delta looked at Sal before giving Kayla a wicked grin. "Bring it on."

* * *

 _ **Hall of Guardians**_

 _ **Late Afternoon**_

Zavala oversaw the team Kayla had assembled. All of them her recognised from strike reports Kayla had presented to him, and all of them he had some knowledge of before. Cayde was looking over the team, giving them all a pep talk and generally being his normal, zany self. The team appreciated it.

"Here are the reports of all six Guardians," Ikora said, handing Zavala a group of papers.

"Let's see here…" he said, looking up at them. "When I call your names you will come here and sign this form. Once that's processed your team will be made official. I will add this raid to your list of accomplishments."

"Yes, Commander!" the six said in unison.

"First of all," Zavala said. "Delta. Defender Titan. You were found by West Gate unconscious and covered head to toe in blood with nothing put a pistol, your ghost and an injured girl who you insisted was treated before you were."

Delta stepped forward and nodded, signing the paper. "That is correct Commander."

"Thank you for your confirmation," Zavala nodded as Delta stepped aside. "Next up Hayley-13. Sunsinger Warlock. What you lack in combat skills other Guardians of noticed you greatly make up in intelligence and strategy." Zavala squinted at the paper, double checking the last bit. "You aspire to reform the New Monarchy?" he said in surprise.

"T-That's me, sir!" Hayley said, stepping forward and signing her name.

"Thank you. Jaeger Schwarze, Bladedancer Hunter with an uncanny skill with blades in general. It says he you survived the only survivor of the Dwindler's Ridge incident?"

"With all due respect Commander, I'd rather not talk about that now," Jaeger said, unusually serious as he signed his name.

"That's fine, Jaeger," Zavala nodded. "Athena Accardo?"

The Sunbreaker stepped forward. Zavala continued. "Sunbreaker mercenary with an extend stay at the City for undisclosed reasons. Other Guardians have noted raw strength but have commented about 'emotional instability.' Nevertheless, you've proven yourself capable in battle."

"Just point me at what to kill," she said, signing her name.

Zavala nodded. "Shifter-45. Nightstalker Hunter. Noted for killing multiple high value targets solo. And…you knew Kabr the Legionless?"

Shifter said nothing as he signed his name.

"And last but certainly note least, Kayla Ashcroft," Zavala said. "Rookie Warlock, four months experience. Dismantled the Devils with the help of Delta, stood a Hive Light-draining ritual, slew Archon Aksor with the help of Shifter and Fireteam Fenrir's Anora, openly engaged in combat with the Cabal leaders on numerous occasions, and of course the destroyer of the Black Heart."

"With a resumé like that it's only fitting you led this," Ikora said.

Kayla stepped forward and signed her name, taking her place with her team. Cayde then peered at the form.

"Ahem, you forgot your team name," Cayde said, looking up at them. "It's a very important part of being a fireteam, I'd say _the_ most important part!"

The team looked at each other in confusion.

"Er…Kayla said."

"What about…Fireteam Avenger!" Jaeger said with a childlike grin.

"I like Fireteam Avalanche," Athena said with a devilish grin.

"I-I'm a fan of Fireteam Justice," Hayley said with a raise of her hand.

"I'm cool with the Chocobros," Delta said with a shrug.

"I think we should be named Fireteam Team Alpha Wolf Squadron," Shifter grunted.

Kayla thought hard. She need something powerful that struck fear into her enemies. "How about…Fireteam Storm?" she said.

The team all murmured before nodding in agreement. Cayde eagerly scribbled that down on the form before giving the paperwork to Ikora. While the pair went off arguing about Vanguard duties and actual Vanguard duties Zavala turned his attention to team.

"I don't know what Kayla has told you, or what you already know," Zavala said. "Kayla was kind enough to come here beforehand and fill us in on the details, all of which are confirmed by Kabr's journal. The Black Garden was only the beginning. The Vex are amassing weaponry in the Vault of Glass that Ikora has classed as ontological. In layman's terms it decides whether or not you exist. Although this power is confined to the Vault of Glass, and _only_ the Vault, the Vex are evidently trying to bring these weapons on to the field." Zavala glanced at the team. Their expression ranged from shocked, to scared, to determination.

The Commander continued. "However, there is a ray of hope. Kabr's journal spoke of an Axis Mind in charge of the Vault: Atheon. If we can take this Mind out we might just be able to permanently stop the Vex's research into time-based weaponry." Zavala straightened and looked at the Guardians before him, handing Kayla Kabr's journal. "This is all the help we can give you. Use it wisely."

"Thank you Commander," Kayla said.

"The Vex in the Vault have total control over the reality inside it. They are unlike anything you have faced before. However, I am confident that you can pull through."

"Piece of cake," Athena smirked.

"I-I'll do my best," Hayley whispered quietly.

"For the City," Delta said with fierce determination.

"I wonder how many girls will be impressed by this?" Jaeger chuckled with a perverted grin.

"Don't worry, old friend," Shifter said. "I'll set this right."

"Good luck, Guardians," Zavala said. "And may your Light burn brightly."

Delta put his hand on Kayla's shoulder. "Well then Captain. Time to give the order."

Kayla looked at him and nodded. "Alright Fireteam Storm! Lets show these machines what the City is made of!"

" _Yosh!_ "

* * *

 **NEXT TIME:** The newly christened Fireteam Storm arrive on Venus, and start the toughest challenge of their lives in **Chapter 1-29: The Gateway**


	29. 1-29) The Gateway

**A/N:** Contrary to popular belief I'm not dead!

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ , _Destiny 2_ and all their expansions are all owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only own Fireteam Storm and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 05:** The Vault of Glass

 **Chapter 029:** The Gateway

 _ **Space…**_

The flight to Venus was largely uneventful. Most of the journey was flown in silence with the fireteam members busy doing their own rituals to prepare for the task ahead. Athena was testing out her fire powers and making sure they were up to standard. Shifter was snoozing as his autopilot carried his ship through while Jaeger was busy sharpening his various throwing knives. Hayley was spending time reading up on strategies against the Vex with the help of Kabr's journal. Kayla herself was now focusing on her newfound responsibilities as team captain and, needless to say, she was worried both for her skills as a Guardian as well as her capabilities as a leader. The thing that worried her the most though was the safety of the Guardians under her care. And no matter how the Vanguard looked at it Fireteam Storm was more than just a team to Kayla.

They were her friends.

"Hey, Kayla," Delta said over the radio. "How're you holding up?"

Kayla looked out of her ship window, spotting Delta's flying next to hers. She gave a small sigh. "Hey, Delta," she said. "I'm alright, just…worried."

"Yeah…" Delta said, his voice a little solemn. "I don't blame you."

There was a pause before Delta spoke up again. "Why not talk to the team. Get them to…interact a little."

Kayla looked over at Delta's ship again. She could make out a small thumbs up from his cockpit. Kayla shook her head then switched the radio to fireteam chat.

"So, how are we holding up?" Kayla asked.

There was some silence over the comms before Jaeger spoke up.

"Well, we're going on a life or death voyage to stop some timey-wimey mechs from wiping out humanity," he said in a jovial voice. "I think this is the easiest thing we've done in our careers!"

"You're not funny, _stupido cazzo_ ," Athena said sarcastically.

"Lighten up, Athena," Delta chuckled. "At least he's trying."

"You think I ain't got a sense of humour?!" Athena shouted.

"Oooo, she's the serious type," Jaeger chuckled.

"Children, behave," Shifter sighed. "We've got enough on our plates without arguing."

"I'm not arguing…" Athena grumbled.

"W-well, I've been studying Kabr's journal," Hayley said timidly "There's not a lot to go on, but…I believe in us!"

"See, Hayley believes in us, how could you _not_ want to succeed?" Jaeger said with a hearty laugh.

"Nah, nah, don't take the mick," Kayla said. "Hayley's right, we just need a little faith. Did the Iron Lords succeed without faith? Did Saint-14 assassinate Solkis without faith? Did Rezyl Azzir help defend the Walls without the faith of the City against his back?"

"So, all we need is the power of friendship?" Shifter asked dryly.

"Well with that in mind I suddenly want to run through a brick wall!" Delta laughed.

"We can do this!" Kayla said. "Lets make our mark on the City's legends and go down as the Guardians that saved the universe from the Vex!"

" _Hoorah!_ " the team cheered.

* * *

 _ **Venus**_

 _ **Waking Ruins**_

 _ **Vault of Glass- Entrance**_

The fireteam touched down on the rocky cliffs of Venus, battle ready and filled with grim determination. The volcanoes spewed sulphurous gas into the air and mixed with the storm clouds that rumbled continuously over the ocean, turned the sky into a sickly black-yellow colour that was illuminated ever so often by the occasional light flash. The wind blew the gently, making the patchy grass sway in the breeze a little as small squirrel-like aliens scampered around, hiding amongst the Vex ruins as soon as Fireteam Storm teleported in.

Although Kayla couldn't say she missed Venus, she did feel some familiarity with the planet on her return visit. She looked out over the ocean, the storm making her uneasy. Delta stood beside here, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Well…here we are," Delta said.

"Yeah," Kayla said, breathing slowly to remain calm. "It always seems to storm here."

"Maybe the Vex know."

"Maybe."

"Ack! Son of Jovian whore!" Athena shouted, making retching noises.

Kayla instinctively turned round, aiming Iris's Rifle. To her surprise, Athena was throwing up. Her helmet was off and Hayley was busy rubbing her back. Kayla lowered her gun and looked at Jaeger. Jaeger looked at Athena, then Kayla, pointing a thumb at her.

"She took her helmet off," he said dryly. "I did warn her."

Kayla looked from Jaeger to Athena. "You ok?"

"Peachy," Athena coughed, wiping her mouth.

"I can't smell anything," Shifter said as he counted his sniper rounds.

" _Don't sass me, Shifter!_ " Athena snapped, unable to see the smug grin on Shifter's face.

Kayla shook her head and moved to the front of team. In front of them was the gargantuan entrance to the Vault of Glass. It seemed to be staring back at her, goading her to just try and raid it. Kayla swallowed her anxiety and turned to the team.

"That there is the Vault of Glass," Kayla said, pointing behind her "In there is the worst the Vex have to offer. Well, today we're going to show them the worst the City has to offer!"

"…I thought it'd be bigger," Jaeger quipped, making the team chuckle.

"Might be bigger on the inside, you don't know that."

With a few chuckles the team set off the grassy hill, hiking up to the foreboding Vex structure. Soon the dirt and metal gave way to weathered concrete, leaving only Storm and the large circular door embedded in the wall before them. Kayla eyed it up and down, the large brass structure taking up most of the wall. Hayley was the first to move forward, gently running a hand across the door.

"It's shut tight…" she said quietly, looking around the area. "Vex like to use plates as keys…Jaeger, can stand on that one there."

Hayley pointed to a weathered grey plate before the gateway. Jaeger complied, keeping his Vanity ready just in case. No sooner had Jaeger stepped on the plate it lit up, surrounded by the family ethereal blocks that appeared when a Vex device was activated only these ones were red. Hayley frowned.

"I was sure that would work," she huffed.

"Maybe Kabr can lend a hand?" Shifter suggested as he perched himself on a concrete block.

 **(Mephiles' Whisper- Sonic 06 OST)**

Hayley's eyes widened before she began looking through the pages of Kabr's journal frantically. Kayla came over and peeked over her shoulder. Most of the journal seemed to be detailing Kabr's adventures with two Guardians called Pahanin and Praedyth, several of the entries chronicling numerous hijacks and adventures the team had during trips across the system. Kayla could tell how close the three were from Kabr's affectionate description of the pair, likening the trio to brothers.

Then one entry caught Kayla's eye.

"Hold on, stop there," she said.

 _ **03/02/2657**_

 _I heard his voice in Caloris Basin. The Speaker thinks them mad, but the Followers of Osiris have always intrigued me. Zavala sent me to spy on them but…I_ spoke _with him. Showed me things that…well, I need to stop them…I need to find out what the Vex are doing…_

"Mercury…Io…Venus…" Kayla scanned as Hayley flicked through the journal again. "Wow, even Mars…"

"Here we go," Hayley said.

 _ **12/10/2657**_

 _I convinced Pahanin and Praedyth to come along with me._ She _was there, waiting. Her eyes were so sad...Together we opened the Vault but we've stopped to rest in the trial on the other side. There's something down there, I can hear it. I feel strange, like we've been here for weeks. I don't know what's going on…_

"So we need to find two other plates, yeah?" Delta said, heading off to scour the area.

"No…hold on, something else is here," Kayla said, her brow furrowing in confusion. "It comes after 12/10/57 but…the date it 12/ _09_ /57…"

Shifter looked up at the mention of that.

"September Twelfth 2657. No one can open the Vault alone…" Kayla read. "I opened the Vault. There was no one with me but I was not alone. Prai…" Kayla instinctively gagged, stepping back in fright. "P-Praise him…"

"You ok?" Jaeger asked, moving his hand between the glowing lights.

"I-I think…Shifter I'm so sorry," Kayla said quickly.

"What? What is it?" Shifter asked, marching towards her. "Tell me!"

"I-I've…I've seen that before," Kayla said, calming herself. "In a Cabal base. They Vex got in their heads, but they had just disappeared. They must have…they must have done the same to Kabr."

"How?!" Shifter growled.

"I don't know, _somehow!_ " Kayla snapped back. "Maybe further on can tell us, but right now we need to open this door."

Shifter clenched his fist in frustration and Kayla could tell that the possibility of the Vex torturing his friend was bothering him greatly. Hesitantly he took his hand. Shifter obliged, look at her.

 **(End 'Mephiles' Whisper')**

"I understand you're worried and upset, I would be too," Kayla said. "But right now we have a job to do. We can find out what happened to him later, but right now we need to stop the Vex."

Shifter paused, mulling things over in his mind. Finally he pulled his hand away and rested it under the barrel of his 20/20. "Just tell me what to shoot," he said.

Kayla smiled and nodded before rallying the team. "Right, the other two plates should be around here. We'll split up in three teams of two. When you find the plate, one of you stands on it while the other defends in case something nasty comes out of the undergrowth. I'll stay with Jaeger."

 **(Ishtar Sink- Destiny OST)**

The team nodded, Delta heading off to the right with Shifter while Athena covered Hayley on the left. After around ten minutes of digging in the undergrowth the team uncovered two more plates. Like the central plate it looked as though it hadn't been touched in at least half a century. Judging by the dates in Kabr's journal Kayla thought that was accurate enough. She doubted, or rather…she _hoped_ no one else had tried to raid the Vault since Kabr.

Still…something didn't sight right with her about the last entry she'd read. Did the Vex have a concept of torture? It wouldn't surprise Kayla if they did but how would the Vex torture Kabr?

"No…" Kayla whispered, biting the tip of her thumb. "Even the Vex wouldn't be that cruel…would they?"

"Is everything alright?" Ghost asked, snapping Kayla out of her thoughts.

"What? Yes! Yes…just…thinking," Kayla shook her head. "I'm fine. Right, is everyone ready?"

Various cries of 'yes' came from the team. Kayla nodded in response then held her hand up. The team readied themselves. After a few seconds Kayla clenched her fist. As soon as she did that Shifter and Hayley stepped on to their plates. No sooner had they done that a large light shone in the centre of the triangle the three plates made and Kayla recognised it as a Vex spire.

" _Capitano_ , we've got company!" Athena shouted as numerous Harpies descended on them.

"Hold ground until that spire is formed," Kayla ordered. "And don't waste your Supers! We don't know what we'll find inside."

The swarm of Harpies opened fire, strafing the Guardians like bomber jets. The team fired frantically at the Vex, the cracks of gunfire echoing through the air as a battel broke out. A small swarm of Harpies made their way to Hayley, who fired on them with her auto rifle as she screamed in panic. Athena barrelled her way through the Harpies sending them flying as chunks of metal hit the ground. Hayley gasped, firing over Athena's shoulder as another Harpy tried to make a grab at the Titan with its metallic tendrils. It squawked on its death, Athena glancing at Hayley.

"Nice work," the Titan said, a little winded.

"T-Thank you!" Hayley squeaked before resuming the battle.

Across the cliff Shifter was busy sniping any Harpy that had the unfortunate chance of coming in line with his rifle, loud cracks ringing through the valley as shards of Vex guts rained down from above. Delta dashed from cover to cover, covering his head to avoid the chunks of metal.

"You could warn me when which ones you're going for!" he shouted, firing at some Harpies with his pulse rifle.

"Too much time wasted," Shifter grunted, firing a bullet through three Harpies before whipping around and firing at two more.

Delta stood there dumbfounded as Shifter reloaded. The Exo turned to look at Delta, feel the Titan's eyes on him. "Yeah?"

"Nothing, nothing," Delta said, opening fire on the Vex that surrounded them.

"Are you jealous?" Sal giggled.

"What? No!"

"He's jealous!" Sebastian chuckled.

Below the gateway Kayla and Jaeger fended off the Harpies, ducking and diving under the laser fire. Kayla palm struck a Harpy in the eye, stunning it, before kicking it into another where Jaeger threw a couple of well placed knives into them then turning and firing several shots from his Vanity at the Harpies behind him. Kayla switched to her Matador and opened fire on the Harpies surrounding her only to get blindsided by a smack to the head.

"Ah!" Kayla shouted as she landed awkwardly on her shoulder.

She looked up seeing a large silvery-white Minotaur in front of her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jaeger pull out his kukri. Kayla held out her hand, motioning him to stop, as the Minotaur marched towards her. Kayla looked around quickly, seeing two more appear out of the undergrowth. There was one heading to each plate.

"Ghost, what are…what are these?" Kayla asked, ducked under the Minotaur's punches.

Ghost quickly flew behind the Minotaur and scanned it. For a moment he paused. Kayla ducked under another punch, Palm Striking the Vex unit. That only seemed to make it mad as the Minotaur squawked and grabbed Kayla by the throat, raising her up above its head.

"Ghost…! Ack! Now would be a good time to speak!" Kayla croaked out as she felt the Minotaur's cold metal hand grip tighter around her neck. Jaeger reached for his kukri again. "Do…ack! _Don't!_ Ghost!"

"Seems like they're known as Praetorians," he said, looking at Kayla. "They're designed to…oh, no! Kayla!"

"Ohmygod," Jaeger groaned, throwing a flurry of small throwing knives at the Praetorian. The Minotaur looking at Jaeger before slamming Kayla to the ground with such force the ground below cracked.

"Ah… _FUCK!_ " Kayla shouted, rolling on to her back as Ghost immediately came to heal her cracked bones.

"Do you know how many of you I've killed?" Jaeger chuckled, pulling out his kukri and gently tossing it from hand to hand. Then Minotaur pointed it's torch hammer at him, causing Jaeger's face to falter. "Ya don't talk much, do you?"

"Please tell me you aren't just going to stand there while it fires at you?" Cheryl asked in dismay. The barrel of the torch hammer began to glow a fierce purple. "Ohhh, you are…" Cheryl said with a panicked sigh.

Jaeger chuckled, leaping over the blast and plunging the kukri into the Praetorian's head. The Praetorian faltered, jittering a little before Jaeger took the knife out and leaped back on the sync plate. The Praetorian stumbled, collapsing to its knees before exploding.

"What the hell do you put on that blade?" Kayla asked, standing up.

"For you, Kayla, anything you want," Jaeger said with a wink.

"That would sound way less creepy if it wasn't a knife…" Cheryl sighed.

Jaeger sighed then went back to shooting the Harpies. Ghost flew to Kayla's side as she dusted herself down.

"Right, Praetorians," she said.

"Yeah, basically they're designed to shut down the plates," Ghost said.

"Like…lock them?"

"Like… _dead_."

"Oh, shi…" Kayla said, turning to the team. "Guys, don't le the Minotaurs on the plates! If they get to them we can't get in!"

"Noted!" Delta shouted.

"Got it!" Athena growled, pulling out her machine gun and aiming at the Praetorian on her side.

Hayley threw a Fusion Grenade onto the Praetorian. It stuck to the joint of its gun arm, stunning the Vex unit. The Praetorian looked at the grenade in curiosity, reaching for it only for the grenade to explode, ripping off its arm as it did so. Athena grinned and poured every bullet in her magazine into the Praetorian. It squawked weakly before exploding, shards of metal and splashes of radiolarian fluid staining the rock.

On the right side Delta was busy wrestling his Praetorian, punching it repeatedly in the face.

"Stupid! Machine! Why! Won't! You! Die!" the Defender shouted with every punch.

"Turn it round to face me," Shifter said, firing casually at the Harpies. "Spread your legs."

"I think that's a… _shit!_ " Delta said as he ducked under the Praetorian's punch. "I think that's a little soon to ask considering we've never met!"

"Don't be a smartass," Shifter said, aiming his rifle.

Delta chuckled and pulled the Vex around, pulling on its shoulders and balancing himself on the insides of it knees. Slowly he peeked to Shifter.

"Don't miss," Delta said. "Please."

"I never miss."

Shifter fired, the bullet piercing through the Minotaur's core. Delta whimpered as he felt the rush of the bullet narrowly missing his crotch. The minotaur collapsed, landing on top of Delta. The Defender heaved the machine off, standing and looking around at the Harpy corpses around him.

"Yup," he squeaked, patting around his crotch. "Didn't miss."

"Told you."

No sooner were the Praetorians defeated the Harpies disappeared in a haze of electrical fog. The team looked around, seeing the large Vex spire behind them. Delta hopped down to touch it. It was still warm and Delta pulled his hand back in surprise.

 **(End 'Ishtar Sink')**

"Ouch…" he hissed, before looking at Kayla. "Did we do it?"

"I think so…" she said, crouching to look at a destroyed Harpy. It was red and black and appeared to have spines attached to it. "Edgy."

"They're called the Aphix Invasive," Sebby said. "The elite of the elite of the Vex."

"Figures," Kayla said.

 **(Aliens- Halo 4 OST)**

Suddenly a large beam of light fired out of the spire, catching everyone by surprise. The beam of light shot into the centre of the giant bronze door. As the fireteam regrouped at the base of the door the ground shook violently, uprooting nearby trees and causing boulders from the cliffs to come tumbling down. The tremor continued as the Vault door glowed, the bottom of the giant circular plate disappearing, almost dissolving into nothingness. When the gap was fully opened the tremors stopped and the team composed themselves. Kayla stared into the dingy cave beyond the door, her breath laced with anticipation.

Now it was just them and the Vault.

"Team," Kayla said. "We move."

Storm nodded, following behind Kayla as she took point. Beyond the door was a wide, dark cavern. At first it looked like any ordinary Venusian cave but something about the air inside caused the hairs on Kayla's arms to stand on end. Something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. It was like every step she took she took forever, repeating itself over and over giving her a sense of constant falling.

Suddenly a gunshot rang through the cavern. Kayla spun on her heal, pointing Iris's Rifle at the offender. Athena was pointing her pistol at thin air, a little to the left of Kayla. Her breathing was staggered. "S-Sorry," she said, her voice dazed. "I…I thought I could see someone..."

Delta lowered Athena's arm, giving her a reassuring nod. Athena looked at him, then composed herself. In the corners of her eyes she could see glimpses of people running past her. Wispy and faint, almost like imprints on the Vault's memory.

"You can't see them?" Athena asked.

"I can see _something_ ," Delta said. "Red eyes in the walls, staring down at us."

Kayla looked over the team, ignoring the golden starlight she was seeing around her. All of them were evidently hallucinating something. Perhaps it was just the paranoia getting to them or the Vault was playing tricks on them, she couldn't tell. "Guys, we got this," she said, turning. "Just stay close and _don't_ split up."

There were hesitant murmurs of agreement before the team set off again, sticking close and covering each other's backs. As they went deeper the cave got dimmer and dimmer. Only the golden lights that flashed in and out of existence guided them.

Kayla turned a corner, instinctively firing as the faint image of a Titan ran past her, followed by a Warlock and a Hunter. The image looped, until it was just the lone Titan running the same course over and over again, never stopping, never faltering.

"Kabr?" Shifter gasped, reaching out to touch the projection. The projection turned and flickered before disappearing. "No, Kabr!"

Before Shifter could race off Jaeger grabbed his arm. "I get you want to find him," the normally jovial Bladedancer said in an uncharacteristically grim voice. "But we need to stay together. We don't know what the Vex are doing."

There was a silence while everyone composed themselves, ignoring the flickering projections around them. With everyone calm Kayla took point again. As they went deeper the natural volcanic rock gave way to the familiar geometric blocks that marked Vex architecture. It was then the team heard a whisper, one that Kayla was all too familiar with.

 _Praise him…_

"W-What was that?!" Hayley squeaked in fear.

"I think that's the Vex," Kayla said, ignoring the itching sensation she was feeling within her skull. "They know we're here."

 _Praise him… Praise him…._

 _Praise him…. Praise him… Praise him…. Praise him…._

"What does that even mean?" Jaeger asked as the group rounded a corner, coming to a giant gaping maw in the rock.

"I don't know," Kayla shrugged. "Ask Kabr's journal."

Hayley opened the journal once more, finding another strange date that was somehow several months before the day Kabr's team descended into the Vault. Hayley ignored it and read aloud, the contents of the journal entry sending a shiver coursing through her metallic body.

 _How many times have I run this course? The Vex, they torment me. I see projections of people who know but I…I can't…I don't remember. Each movement feels like falling. Every shadow dances around me._

 _And that third step…The third step I hear when I stop walking…But I look around and there's no-one behind me…Just the Vault and the echoes…_

 _How many times have I gone done this trail? The Vex laugh at me._ "The Trail of Kabr" _they sneer. No matter. For those who find this journal, if there is anyone bold enough or…stupid enough…to come down here._

 _Know the Templar awaits you…in a place that is before or after stars. If you can already see them…_

The team paused, every breath being noticed as the stars danced around them. Hayley swallowed hard before continuing.

 _If you can already see them then know this: the stars will move and mark you. They will decide if you are real._

"W-what is it, what does he mean by that?" Hayleyasked in a panic.

"'A place before or after stars…'" Kayla murmured as the group came to the edge of a cliff. "I think we found it."

Jutting out of the far wall of the maw was a large platform made of Vex platforms. It looked weathered, almost ancient. Information from the team's ghosts suggested that the structure had been there long before humanity had evolved. On the wall was another vault door, older than the first judging by the rusted metal. Around them the stars danced, the glow of temptation urging the team to jump the gap. Kayla took a step forward off the edge, gliding down to the other platform. She could feel bliss as the stars danced, glowing brightly. Ghost appeared next to her. He was saying… _something_ but she couldn't hear him. All she wanted was to step forward, into the light that was in front of her.

"That's not good!" Delta said quickly, jump off and landing on the platform.

"Delta, I'm getting some strange readings off that light!" Ghost said hurriedly, flying towards him.

"Kayla!" Delta said, grabbing the Voidwalker from behind and dragging her back. "Kayla, Kayla, Kayla, don't go to it!"

"But…can't you hear him?" Kayla murmured, almost entranced. "It's my brother…It's Tommy, he's on the other side…"

"Guys, a little help!" Delta shouted as Kayla tried to force herself away from him.

Athena and Jaeger jumped down to help while Hayley brushed through the journal again.

"Stars, stars, reality, stars," she murmured. "Aha! Some sense!"

"What is it?" Shifter asked, aiming his 20/20 at the light.

"The stars, they're Oracles!" Hayley said quickly. "'They…" Her voice lowered to a worried gasp. "If they mark you they erase you from existence…" she turned to Shifter, her face dour. "You will have never been born."

Shifter quickly turned to the scene below. Kayla was nearing the Oracle, her arm outstretched. Instinctively he fired a sniper round at the Oracle. The sound of glass shattering filled the room before the light blinked out of existence. When the light disappeared Kayla fell forward, the two Titans pulling her upwards.

"Easy, easy," Delta said as the rest of the team caught up to them. "Nice save, Shifter!"

Shifter saluted then joined the others.

" _Mio dio,_ Kayla, don't scare us like that," Athena said.

 **(End 'Aliens')**

"What…what happened, I heard Tommy…" Kayla murmured, coming to. She looked around, noticing the worried faces of her team. "What? What happened?"

"Ok, Hayley, can you explain what the hell that was?" Jaeger asked.

All eyes turned to Hayley, who shrank like a timid mouse. "W-Well…i-it…it's um…"

"Don't worry, Hayley," Kayla said with a smile. "You're safe with us."

"Well…'safe'," Jaeger quipped.

Hayley smiled a little then took a deep breath. "The Vanguard said that the Vault of Glass is designed to build ontological weaponry. The lights," she motioned to the where the Oracle was. "'Oracles' Kabr calls them, is part of that. They hypnotise you or just outright make you for erasure."

The team looked at each other, uneasy. Jaeger was the first to speak up.

"Kabr the Legionless…" Jaeger said quietly, looking around at the inky gloom. "I guess now we know the meaning behind that name…"

"You don't think?" Kayla said, a little scared at the new implications. "The Vex wouldn't…"

"'I opened the Vault alone'," Jaeger said. "'It cannot be opened alone, yet I was alone'."

"Oh my god…" Athena gasped, taking a moment to the side.

Kayla glanced at Shifter. The Nightstalker was staring at his sniper rifle, unable to say anything. "Shifter?" Kayla asked.

"I'm fine," he said quickly. "Let's just…get on with this."

Kayla nodded then turned to the door behind them. "So…what now?"

"I'm willing to bet that this…Templar Kabr's journal mentioned is a guard," Delta said. "Defeat the Templar, open the door."

"But how do we draw it out?" Jaeger asked.

 **(Disappeared- KH 2.5 OST)**

Suddenly, echoing through the gloom came the sound of bells. The team instinctively readied themselves. Above them more Oracles appeared, coming into view with every chime, dancing around the team. The sound of laughter came from them as they moved and swayed through the air. Eventually seven of them appeared on the platform around them, blinking in and out of existence.

"Eyes up team, they're coming for us!" Kayla shouted.

"INFECTION!" came a booming computerised, almost female, voice from the gloom. "YOUR LIGHT SHALL END HERE!"

"I'm guessing we're in audience with the Templar?" Delta asked.

"CORRECT. I AM THE BLADE OF ATHEON. YOUR LIVES WILL BE STUDIED THEN FORFEIT. FOR THE PATTERN. FOR THE NETWORK."

* * *

 **NEXT TIME:** The battle is underway as Storm fight for their lives against the Templar and its Oracles. Will the survive where Kabr could not? Find out in **CHAPTER 1-30: The Templar**.

* * *

 **Closing A/N:** So, first off I want to apologise for the length of time between the last chapter and this one. Writer's block combined with an unhappy job and then family drama means this was delayed considerably. I hope that the first proper Raid chapter was up to your standards and I look forward to showing the rest of the Vault of Glass arc as it comes.

Also, Become Legend has nearly clock 15,000 views. I can't believe it's this popular! Like…holy shit!

Thank you so much for your support, it means a lot.

If you have an thoughts leave a review if you so wish. If you have any questions regarding stuff in the story please PM me.

Love ya!

Shadow


	30. 1-30) Templar

**A/N:** I know I said this was for New Year's Day, and I'm sorry. I was meant to get through this between Christmas and New Year, but I took really ill that week to the point that I slept most of it.

That being said, I am going to try and stick to at least one chapter a month from now on. I've had so much inspiration and creativity with Kayla's character arcs throughout D2, especially between Forsaken and Joker's Wild, and I…need to get through another 150 chapters before then. Stay tuned, we're nearly at Atheon! After two years! :D

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Destiny_ , _Destiny 2_ and their expansions are all owned by Bungie, Activision, High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions. I only own Fireteam Storm and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 05:** The Vault of Glass

 **Chapter 030:** The Templar

 **(Disappeared- KH2.5 0ST)**

 _ **Vault of Glass**_

 _ **Templar's Well**_

Storm gazed in wonder as the Oracles danced around them. The purest starlight they had ever seen, almost hypnotic in their grasp. Staring at them it was almost as if all their fears would just drift away, like scattered dreams and far off memories. No more pain and no more worries. The stars sang to the team as they basked in the Oracles' joy, just as Kabr had said: the gentle, soothing hums echoing in the gloomy darkness of the Vault.

 _Join us,_ they said. _Let us sing you to sleep. Forever and ever…_

 _That's it…_

 _Closer and closer…_

 _Bask in our embrace_

"…Kayla…"

 _Eternal peace is yours forever_

"…Kayla…!"

 _You don't need to worry. Just give yourself to the Pattern…like a newborn's first steps to its mother…_

"KAYLA!"

Suddenly a loud screeching sound ripped through the cavern. The team all grasped their heads in pain as the sharp shriek pierced through the peaceful hum of the starlight, the vibrations making their very bones shake. Kayla collapsed, her breathing ragged and her vision blurred. Slowly Kayla got to her hands and knees, her sight coming back to her. She could see Ghost hovering before her, a look of concern in his eye.

"Destroy the Oracles!" Ghost ordered as Kayla held her head in pain. His voice was uncharacteristically serious.

"Nngh…what?" Kayla murmured, slowly getting to her feet.

"Oracles!" Ghost repeated. " _Now!_ "

Kayla blinked, looking at her team. Delta was stumbling to his feet, Athena looked as though she'd just been punched in the gut. Jaeger seemed winded, while Shifter seemed to be rebooting, or whatever it was Exos did. Hayley on the other hand seemed to be traumatised by the whole ordeal. Then Kayla's eyes drifted to the blinding light of the Oracles, a look of horror at the realisation of what was happening. In a panic Kayla opened fire on the Oracle in front of her and kept firing until the light dimmed. Around her the team got to their fight, looking around in confusion.

"Guys, Oracles!" Kayla ordered, heading off to destroy another on her right.

"Ora…" Delta started as he glanced at one of the bright lights, clocking on to what was happening. " _Oh, shit!_ Move, team! Go, go, go!"

The team split into pairs, taking on a section of the Well each. As Kayla moved to the top of the Well waves of Goblin teleported in front of her, firing on her team with their slap rifles. Kayla narrowly dodge on of the lasers only to grabbed by a Goblin's claw. She grunted, elbowing it in its glowing red eye before pulling away and poured several bursts from Iris's Rifle into its chest. Several more Goblins surrounded her, forcing her to retreat slightly. Out from one of the corners came Athena, slamming into the line of Vex with a mighty punch. The first Goblin flew into its companions, the force causing it to tear through them before smashing against a stone wall. Athena looked at Kayla and nodded, before activating Hammer of Sol and bombarding the nearby Oracle with it.

Kayla headed past the door to the inner vault, clearing out the Goblins in front of the glowing Oracle before her before pouring as many shells from her Matador as she could in to the device, causing it to shatter like glass as a small wisp of electrical energy flew out of it.

Further down Jaeger and Shifter were caught up between the Oracles and several Hobgoblin snipers. Jaeger poked his head out, firing on one of the Oracles with his Vanity. The hiss of a line rifle bullet scraping the nose of his mask was enough to make him slowly inch behind cover again. Shifter tried to aim out with his 20/20 but was forced back by another sniper.

"Damn it…" he muttered, reloading. "Any bright ideas?"

Jaeger thought for a moment. "They need a distraction…"

"Yeah, no shit," Shifter grunted, mounting a serious look against the Bladedancer.

"Just trust me," Jaeger grinned with a reassuring hand before dashing out into the open. " _Look at me, I'm a target!_ "

"Fucking…" Shifter started as he watched Jaeger nimbly dodge the sniper rounds before aiming his at one of the Hobgoblins.

The occupied Vex shattered into pieces as the crack of the sniper shot echoed through the cavern. It took a second Hobgoblin's death for the Vex to notice Shifter. Shifter edged out slightly, picking off a third Hobgoblin that was followed by a fourth. Unbeknownst to him a fifth Hobgoblin fired, hitting him in the shoulder. Shifter cried out in pain as the laser seared through the metal plate of his shoulder. Shifter turned and held up his 20/20 in one arm towards the offending Hobgoblin, only for it to collapse as a knife embedded itself in its gut. Shifter turned, seeing Jaeger stood casually, spinning a knife on his finger.

"You're welcome," he said with a cheeky wink before grabbing his electrically-charged kukri and throwing it full force into the Oracle behind them, shattering it in to pieces.

"Are you alright?" Sebby asked his Guardian.

"Focus on the Oracles, then heal me," Shifter replied calmly. "I'll be fine."

Moving to another position Shifter aimed at the second Oracle, shielding his eyes as the light grew brighter. Without hesitation he pulled the trigger, shattering the Oracle into pieces and giving a satisfied smirk as the glass shards clinked on the ground.

At the edge of the platform Delta was busy charging through the Goblins protecting the Oracles. Grabbing one by its finned head and using it to catapult himself one of the Goblins in the formation behind it before pulling the other one over him and batting the line of Vex with it, sending robot parts and Vex milk flying everywhere.

"That's another thing off my bucket list," Delta said with a nod. "Sal, mark off: 'Hit a Goblin with another Goblin.'"

"Aaand done!" Sal chirped before screaming as she felt a metallic claw grab her shell.

"Mmm?" Delta said, turning to see a Minotaur inspecting a terrified Sal. Delta immediately grabbed his fusion rifle, the Main Ingredient, and charged with a powerful leap. "Hands off my ghost!"

With a blast of Arc energy from the fusion rifle, the Minotaur stumbled, abruptly dropping Sal before turning to the Defender with an annoyed squawk.

"Yeah, yeah," Delta said with a roll of his eyes before blasting the Minotaur again. The large Vex roared in pain as the electricity lanced its metal shell, glaring at Delta with its single red eye. "Really?" Delta asked, starting a run up. " _Glaring_ is the best you've got?"

The Minotaur braced itself as Delta punched it in the gut, winding the Minotaur and causing it to stumble close to the edge. The Titan smirked a little before throwing a flashbang at it. The Minotaur whirred at the shock of the grenade and stepped back, only to lose its footing over the edge. Delta watched as it was sent tumbling to the abyss below.

Satisfied, Delta headed to an Oracle and fired on it with his Nightshade pulse rifle. The Oracle seemed gave a strange wailing noise, like an ethereal choir had just been interrupted from their chorus, as the bullets pierced the glass. With one Oracle down Delta turned and ducked for cover under the sounds of the Vex slap rifles.

"Shit…" he muttered as a laser blast caught his foot, looking around. "Hayley are you-?"

The Sunsinger was nowhere to be found. Delta cursed a little, turning to see a Goblin over him. It aimed at him and the Defender could have sworn it would have been smirking if it could. Delta chuckled and held out his hands.

"I'm sure we can talk this out," Delta said, sitting up, slyly slipping a hand around his back as he did so. "I'm sure you can understand me." Delta slowly stood as the Vex eyed him with curiosity, quickly grabbing his machine gun, the Chaotic Neutral, from behind him and filled the Vex with lead.

With the Vex dead Delta let out a sigh of relief. The loud hum of the remaining Oracle snapped him awake. Moving quickly, Delta vaulted on of the walls and fired into the Vex device from his machine gun. Glass flew everywhere as the Oracle shattered into pieces and silence feel on the Templar's Well. Delta smiled and sat down against a ledge.

 **(End 'Disappeared')**

"Everyone ok?" came Kayla's voice from the centre of the room. "Roll call! _Now!_ "

"Delta's here!" Delta said with an exhausted sigh.

"Safe!" Jaeger shouted, sheathing his kukri.

"Shifter's ok," the Nightstalker said, reloading.

"I'm here," Athena said, cracking her knuckles.

Kayla blinked. Four. "Hayley?" she asked, looking around. "Hayley?!" she asked a little more frantically, searching around the area. "Hayley, answer me! _Hayley!_ "

Storm slowly looked at each other before quickly scouting the room. Kayla rounded a dark corner. Was Hayley gone? Did she fall? And the Vex get her? Was she taken by an Oracle? No, no, no, they'd just started she couldn't lose another family member not now not _now!_

"Captain!" came Jaeger's voice from across the room. "I found her."

Kayla dashed to him, finding Hayley cowering in a corner. She was in bits and the reassurance from Crusher seemed to do little to calm her. Kayla crouched in front of her as the others surrounded them. She took Hayley's hand gently in her own, squeezing it as Hayley whimpered at the touch.

"Hayley," Kayla said softly. "It's me, it's Kayla."

"C-Captain?" Hayley sniffed, looking up at the Voidwalker. "Y-You're not a trick are you?"

"No, I'm not, I promise. What happened?"

"I-I panicked…I can't do this, I'm sorry, I can't…"

Hayley burst into tears again prompting Kayla to hug her tightly. From behind her she could hear the stomp Athena's boots march up to her.

" _Captino_ ," Athena said. She sounded frustrated. "If I may."

Kayla turned, glaring at the Sunbreaker. Athena removed her helmet. She was scowling a little, but it seemed softer than normal. "Please," she said.

The Voidwalker looked at her fellow Warlock before slowly standing up. Hayley whimpered, trying to cling to Kayla as she stood before finding the Sunsinger found herself staring at Athena's metal boots. The Exo slowly looked up.

"Get up," Athena said firmly.

"W-Wha…?" Hayley asked.

"I said get up!" Athena growled, roughly pulling Hayley up by her arm. "Now are you going to just sit there and cry the entire mission are you actually gonna do something?"

"I-I…" Hayley started, welling up more.

"Well?! Are you?!"

"N-No, I…I-I'm…"

"You're what?!"

" _I'm scared!_ Ok?!" Hayley snapped.

"Guess what, we all are!" Athena shouted back. "Doesn't mean you can just sit back and watch us do all the work!"

"I'm not doing that!" Hayley retorted, the tears tried up and replaced by anger. "I came to help you guys!"

"Oh, really?" Athena scoffed. "By hiding in the corner like a coward?"

"I'm not a coward!" Hayley shouted, straightening her posture. "I…I'm a Guardian of the Last City! And I'm not having you _mock me like that!_ "

Hayley screamed and threw a punch at Athena. The Sunbreaker grabbed Hayley's fist with her hand. Hayley looked at Athena. Her face was now in a relaxed smirk. "Then prove it," she said, letting Hayley's fist go.

Athena put on her helmet and walked down to the centre of the room, leaving the team in a stunned silence. Hayley looked at her hands, then at Kayla and nodded. Kayla let out a sigh of relief and smiled before heading to the door to the inner vault.

"Well, Templar," Kayla shouted out at the gloom. "We played your game. We win."

"Oh, human," came a cybernetically enhanced, female voice from the inky black. "You've just passed phase one."

"I really don't like the sound of that…" Delta said, standing beside Kayla.

 **(Invisible Depths- FFXIII-2 OST)**

Suddenly a massive wave of electrically charged fog washed over the cavern, shrouding the platform in a dim blue light as it enveloped the stage. Kayla and the others frantically looked around them, only seeing the lights of the Oracles glowing in the fog as a single blue eye blinked into existence in the centre. The wind howled as it lashed against the ends of Kayla's robe, the Guardians all huddling together against the strength of the gale.

"I _really_ don't like this!" Delta shouted over the howl of the wind as the eye spiralled out the fog.

Around the eye came a platinum-grey metal body, with a large head that curved into two horns, while a thin, segmented body phased into existence beneath it. Intricate spirals adorned the newly formed Vex Hydra as several blue orbs spun around it like carrion flies. The Vex Hydra leaned in close to Kayla, their noses practically touching, before the electricity that connected the body together snapped it back into place while an impenetrable spherical shield covered it.

"INFECTION!" the voice boomed. "You will be removed like the cancer you are!"

 **THE TEMPLAR**

 **GUARDIAN OF THE VAULT**

The Templar opened fire on the group, forcing them to scatter into the corners of the stage. Kayla poked her head out, aiming at the colossal Vex unit to try and find an opening, _something_ that could allow it to be damaged, but the shield around it seemed impenetrable.

"Damn it," she muttered, pulling back as the Templar's Aeon Maul battered the corner of the wall.

"Any ideas?" Jaeger asked from the opposite wall.

"Ahhh…" Kayla started awkwardly

" _We don't have a plan?!_ " Hayley screamed in panic.

"Working on it!" Kayla shouted back over the raucous of the wind and the Templar's attacks. The chime of an Oracle alerted pricked her ears up. "Oracle…" she whispered, before looking at her teammates. "Athena, Hayley, find that Oracle! Shifter, you're on Tether duty. If anything comes, lock it down. Jaeger, same goes for you. I don't want a single Goblin to be left here if they come. Delta, you're with me. We're going to scope out this Hydra for any weak points."

A collective unison of confirmations later the team split up. Athena and Hayley took down the left most path, following the gentle hum of the Oracle. Hayley get her Scathelocke close as Athena led them to the lower level, making sure to keep out of the Templar's sight.

"Athena…!" Hayley shouted over the sounds of the battle. "Athena!"

"Oh, _what?!_ " the Sunbreaker snapped, turning to face the Sunsinger.

"I-I I think the Oracle's hidden here," she said quietly.

Athena stepped forward. "Where?"

Hayley closed her eyes, listening for the faint ringing in her head that permeated the noise as it clawed its way into her mind. Then she opened them, slowly making her way to a small alcove. Athena followed, her Jäbberhacke ready in anticipation. Sure enough, hidden out of the way was the faint glow of an Oracle. Athena looked at Hayley before firing at the device, the bullets breaking the glass and causing the energy inside to dissipate as the Oracle shut down.

"Huh. Nice job, Hayley," Athena said, giving the Warlock a pat on the back.

"T-thank you!" Hayley said, stumbling forward at the Titan's strength.

Elsewhere Shifter had climbed onto a large pillar as a vantage point. Scanning the area from the scope of his sniper rifle, he frowned at the dimness of the lighting. A couple of Goblins had made their way into the fight but were being dealt with by Jaeger. Shifter watched on a little longer before nodding, satisfied with Jaeger's progress and triple jumped over to a new pillar. From here he could see a few headless Goblins milling about. Out of curiosity he sniped one. To his surprise the Goblin exploded, spilling a puddle of ghastly green radiolarian fluid everywhere.

"Gotta keep an eye on that…" he muttered to himself, scanning to where the Templar was. The imposing Vex Hydra was busy firing on Kayla and Delta, but the Exo Nighstalker noticed a brightly glowing shield nestled under the giant Vex. "What…what _is_ that?"

Meanwhile Kayla had her hands full running for her life from the Templar's Aeon Maul. Frustrated she fired on the Templar with Iris's Rifle but the bullets only bounced off the Vex's beehive shield.

"Goddamn it!" Kayla shouted, ducking under a small wall as the Templar bombarded her again.

"There's got to be a way past that shield!" Delta said, though Kayla noticed the doubt in his voice.

Kayla looked down slightly, her mind racing as she tried to think, not of a way to defeat this beast, but of a way to merely _survive_ it. That's all she could ask for right now.

"Hayley, read me Kabr's journal," she said, getting up to run from a handful of headless Goblins moving towards her.

Kayla bolted to Delta, keeping an ear on the silence of her comms. The Templar eyed them in amusement, teleporting to the pair and slamming down in front of them. The shockwave was enough to send Kayla and Delta flying off their feet. Upon landing Kayla could feel blood in her mouth and a sharp pain shoot up from her left side. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the Templar charge up another blast from its Aeon Maul, the sickly purple Void blast sent barrelling towards her. To her relief Delta jumped in with a Ward of Dawn.

"Can you walk?" he asked, straining as the bombardment wrecked against the bubble shield.

"Y-yeah," Kaylas gasped, winded, as Ghost healed her.

"Kayla?" came Hayley's voice, like a blessing over the comms. "I have something!"

"Sho-" Kayla started before Delta grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the Templar's blasts. "Thanks. Shoot, Hayley!"

Hayley cleared her throat, reading from the journal as Athena covered her from the encroaching Goblins.

 _I have destroyed myself to do this. They have taken my ghost. They are in my blood and my brain. But now there is hope. I have made a wound in the Vault. I have pierced it and let in the Light. Bathe in it, and be cleansed. Look to it and understand: from my own Light and the thinking flesh of the Vex I made the Aegis, a shield of hope. It will be your deliverance. It will be unbreakable. It will change your fate. Bind yourself to the shield. Bind yourself to me. And…_

"Hayley?" Kayla asked. "Hayley, what is it?"

Shifter listened intently at his friend's final message. If he had hairs on his back, they would be on end in fear. Hayley continued. "If you abandon your purpose, let the Vault consume you as it did me. If I speak again, I am not Kabr."

"Aegis?" Delta asked as a he held up another Ward to protect the pair from the Templar. "What Aegis? What shield?"

Shifter's eyes, wide with fright, drifted over to the shield in the centre.

' _That's…!_ ' he thought, switching to all comms. "Everyone, there is a shield in the centre! I repeat, there is a shield in the centre!"

"I'm on it!" Jaeger shouted, switching from the Goblins and charging over the small walls and ledges to the centre of the stage. "Captain, if you may order everyone to regroup."

"You heard the man, up top!" Kayla ordered. "Athena, cover Jaeger!"

Jaeger juggled the Vanity in his hands before firing at the Goblins that surrounded him. They fell one by one and the Bladedancer made his way to the area below the ledge. Keeping to the walls, and praying the Templar didn't think to look down, Jaeger snuck underneath the monster. In front of him was something that could barely be described. It was shaped like a diamond, with four plates of what looked like Vex brass. In the centre was an obsidian rock with an hourglass engraved on it, and the whole thing shone like a font of light.

"Oh wow…" Jaeger gasped, reaching out. "It's… _beautiful!_ "

An explosion broke him out of his trance, but before he could realise what had happened Jaeger felt a sickly slime cover him. He looked at his hands, seeing the green radiolarian fluid of a suicide Vex burning at his armour.

" **Ritual in process...** " the Templar boomed, its glowing blue eye glaring at Jaeger. " **Prepare for cleansing!** "

Jaeger suddenly felt every fibre of his being scream at him. The pain was unbearable, and he could see Cheryl desperately trying to heal him. Every atom in his body felt like they were being torn to shreds.

Athena hopped down, grabbing the shield and throwing Jaeger up over her shoulder. The Templar gave a mere chuckle and fired on them. Athena ducked under a beam, the rocks crumbling on impact as she powered to the team.

The team, in the safety of an alcove, watched as Athena brought the incapacitated Jaeger to them. Kayla's eyes widened in concern and shock. She ran up to the pair as Athena laid Jaeger on the ground. Ghost scanned him frantically.

"Ghost, what is this stuff, what is the Templar doing?" Kayla asked quickly.

"I…I don't know!" Ghost said. "This is unlike anything I've seen."

While Storm desperately debilitated, Hayley flicked through Kabr's journal for an answer. Lots of things on the dangers of the Vault, Atheon, a footnote on Gorgons. Then there was the Templar. A Ritual of Negation caused by Fanatics…

"Oh no…" Hayley gasped. "G-Guys! The exploding Goblins…"

"What about them?" Delta asked quickly.

"They're part of the Templar's Ritual of Negation. If the Fanatics mark it…it…"

"Yeah, what?!" Athena snapped.

"The Templar decides if you're real or not."

Kayla looked up from Jaeger, her eyes wide with horror. She looked down at the writhing Jaeger. Cheryl was doing her best to calm him.

"C-Cheryl?" Jaeger gasped, jolting in pain as a cloister bell rang throughout the room. "C-Cheryl where…where are you?"

"It's all right," she said gently. "I'm here, I'm here, we're gonna help you."

"I-I can feel it…the Templar…it's tearing me apart! I'm scared! I'm so scared…"

"Stay calm," Cheryl said. "You saved me, now I'm going to save you." Then she looked up at Kayla. " _WILL ONE OF YOU DO SOMETHING?!_ "

"The Aegis," Hayley said, looking up from the book.

"Sorry?" Cheryl asked, peering over Kayla's shoulder.

"The Aegis!" Hayley said, more firmly. "It cures the affliction!"

Athena looked at Hayley, then pressed the Aegis against Jaeger's body. "I-It's not doing anything…" she said, panicked.

"Your Light," Owl said. "Channel your Light through it."

Athena nodded, and focused, seeing the Light in her well out of her hands. With a powerful _fwoosh_ , Light burst out of the Aegis. Jaeger's breathing stabled as the goo on him burned away. Slowly he looked at the group.

"…Was heaven always full sexy warrior ladies?" he asked with a grin.

"Oh my god…" Kayla groaned, slapping his arm. "If you die here, I'll personally kill you again!"

" **Ritual cancelled** ," the Templar boomed. "Acquiring new measures…"

Before they new it the Templar was upon them, glowering at them. Kayla hurriedly got to her feet. "Move!" she shouted as she watched the Templar's Aeon Maul charge up. " _Move!_ "

Fireteam Storm scattered as the Templar launched a concentrated Aeon Maul at them, Kayla, Hayley and Delta going left while Athena, Jaeger and Shifter went right. One thing kept going through Kayla's mind.

 _A wound in the Vault…_

Vex tech…merged with a Guardians Light…

She stopped suddenly, turning to the Templar. "Could it be…?"

"Kayla, what's up?" Delta asked.

Kayla watched as the Templar came back to the centre of the room. Then it hit her. "Athena!" she shouted into the comms. "The three of you go behind it! When I say, channel as much Light as you can through the Aegis!"

There was a pause. Then," Are you sure, _Capitano_?"

"No…" she admitted. "But it's our only option."

Another pause.

"…Alright," Athena finally said.

Kayla motioned for Delta and Hayley to go behind cover while she ducked being a pillar, narrowly avoiding another Aeon Maul. From her hiding spot she could see Athena move into position, crouching while Shifter and Jaeger positioned themselves like guards. She glanced at the Templar, which was in the middle of rotating.

" _Do it now!_ " Kayla shouted.

Athena gave an almighty scream as a large blast of Light fired out of the Aegis, careening towards the Templar. The impacted broke through the shield, collapsing it into nothingness as the Templar rocked sideways. Kayla's grim face widened into one of triumph.

The shield was broken. They had a way to beat it.

They could do this!

"What…?" the Templar asked, shaken. Its eye spun around to look at Kayla. " **Containment bubbles active!** "

The two cerulean blue orbs around the Templar detached themselves from its body, one flying to Kayla while the other collided with Athena, surrounded them in a large hexagonal containment bubble.

"W-What?" Kayla gasped as she felt her strength drain from her.

"Kayla, are you alright?" Delta asked, running to her.

"I'm fine…" Kayla gasped, reaching for her gun. "Delta…fire on the Templar…"

"R-right…" Delta said hesitantly, moving to comms. "Everyone, open fire!"

The sound of gunfire rang out against the wind as Kayla collapsed under the weight of the suppression field, like she was being drowned in darkness. Ghost flew beside her. "A-Are you able to break it?" he asked, the containment bubble weakening him.

"I don't know…"

" _Capitano!_ " came Athena's voice. "Shoot the bubble!"

Kayla looked at Ghost, then shrugged and fired on it with her Matador. To her surprise the bubble collapsed, and Kayla felt her strength return. She looked around, so sparks of Light and particles of energy flash like a firework display around the shocked Templar as everyone threw their grenades and as many Supers as they could. Kayla shrugged and aimed Harm's Way at the giant Hydra, pouring as many bullets as she could into its chassis.

"E-Execute **TEMPORAL SHIFT!** " the Templar cried out, disappearing.

"Captain!" Jaeger said. "Options?"

"Regroup!" Kayla ordered, moving to the ledge Athena was on.

"I'm sorry, _Capitano_ ," Athena said when Kayla's group made it. "I-I lost the shield…"

"Don't sweat it," Kayla said, looking out at the fog. "We hurt it, which means it can be destroyed."

Out of the swirling fog a blue eye appeared, glaring at the team from afar before firing at them again. The group split into their two teams again, Kayla's going left and Athena's going right as waves of Fanatics and Goblins flooded out of the walls.

The Templar watched on, feeling something it couldn't place. It was a human emotion, one that it could sense from these creatures so strongly. Nothing had hurt it before. It was Atheon's finest weapon, so _why_ were these _ugly things_ able to hurt it?! The Templar stared, amazed and disgusted at the same time by these fleshy bipeds and their perseverance. Perhaps the Vex could learn to simulate them if nothing else.

The chime of two Oracles alerted Storm. With little communication, Shifter and Delta moved on to find the Oracles nestled in out of the way positions. The Oracles shattered like glass, angering the Templar further as it sent more Fanatics after them.

"God, I hate these things!" Hayley shouted, smacking one away with her Curtain Call before turning and filling the Goblins behind with bullets from her Scathelocke

"Tell me about it," Jaeger said dryly.

From the edge of the platform Kayla wrestled with a Goblin. The Vex swiped at her, trying to trip her up but Kayla dodged before grabbed the Goblin by the head. With a powerful scream she threw the Goblin off the edge with all her might, just in time for the Templar to reappear with a bombardment from its Aeon Maul. Between the shaking of the room and the explosions Kayla could see the Aegis fade into existence as though it had been left by the ghost of Kabr himself. Maybe it was.

"Athena!" Kayla shouted. "Aegis is up!"

"Got it!"

Athena broke off from her group, punching a Goblin into the ground for good measure. Come out into the view of the angry Templar Athena jumped down as the Vex fired, sliding under the Aegis with a sly grab, before jumping to her feet and jumping to the upper ledge.

Delta helped her clamber up, throwing up another Ward of Dawn to protect them from the Templar's attacks. Kayla watched Athena hold up the Aegis with triumphant yell, making her chuckle.

"Everyone form up on the centre ledge!" Kayla ordered.

The team obliged and barrelled for the upper platform. Once they were huddled they could see the full view of the Templar. Its shell was dented and pierced in some places, the lights on its body dim. From this position Kayla could see one of its horns was broken.

"Ready?" Athena asked, charging up the Aegis.

"Now!" Kayla ordered.

Athena gave a sadistic grin before firing a super blast from the Aegis. The Templar roared as the shield collapsed again, firing its Aeon Maul everywhere in panic. Fireteam Storm opened fire once more, bullets raining down on the Templar like a storm of lead. Hayley entered Radiance, throwing every grenade she could at the Hydra, angry flares of blistering heat lashing at the Templar from her Solar Grenades. Kayla smirked at the Vex unit's confusion, jump up with a powerful orb of collapsing Light. With a mighty scream she hurled a Nova Bomb right at it, an explosion of spectacular Light taking off the Templar's right Aeon Maul.

The Templar began to glow as its shield came up again. Ghost appeared next to Kayla. "It's trying to teleport!" he said.

Shifter scanned the area, seeing a pillar glowing a hazy blue, dashing off to it and parkouring his way up to the top and readied his Shadowshot.

"Temporal Shift compromised!" the Templar said, panic permeating its voice. "Summoning reinforcements!"

"Oh, great!" Delta groaned as several Minotaurs surrounded them. "More annoyances!"

"Fire in the hole!" came Hayley's voice, followed by a loud boom and tinkling of metal on stone.

Kayla looked on, dumbfounded upon seeing Hayley stood on the corpses of two Minotaurs brandishing her Curtain Call. "Well," she said, jumping back as a Shadowshot landed between them, tendrils shooting out and binding the stunned Minotaurs in place. With the efficiency of a machine, Storm destroyed the Minotaurs before turning to face the Templar again.

"Is that the best ya got?!" Kayla shouted, high on the adrenaline that coursed through her body.

The Templar stared at the team, before several chimes went off around the arena as the lights in the fog bathed the area in red. Storm stumbled as they felt the Light drain from them all. Haggard, Kayla gave an order.

"Oracles!" she breathed, fighting against the sudden tightness in her lungs to move down the arena.

One by one Storm split up, scouring the arena for any Oracles they could find. Hidden away behind a pillar, Kayla found an Oracle glowing a scarlet red. Readying Harm's Way, Kayla fired on the device. It collapsed into nothing, a wisp of energy escaping it like all the others. Suddenly Kayla grabbed her chest, feeling her heart twist and turn in agony. She threw off her helmet, coughing up blood on to the stone floor as she wheezed.

"K-Kayla, it's the Oracles!" Ghost said, scanning her in panic "T-There's nothing I can…"

"Trust them…" Kayla wheezed.

"Know this, Little Light," the Templar said, hovering over her. "Know that just as you did not fight alone, you will not die alone. This is the Vex's gift to you: a perfect _DEATH!_ "

Kayla collapsed on to the cold ground, her vision slowly going black as the bitter wind lashed against her. Was this it? They were so close…

"T-Tommy…" she croaked. "I'm sorry…"

Then, like a miracle, she felt air fill her lungs as her sight came back to her. Kayla rolled onto her back taking deep, bountiful breaths of oxygen. Slowly she looked at the Templar. If it could frown she swore it would be.

"H-How…" it hissed. "Explain! **EXPLAIN!** "

"On Earth," Kayla said with a chuckle, spotting Athena stood with the Aegis. "There's a phrase we say. A powerful phrase to defy all that would stop us" Slowly she stood up, holding two fingers up at the machine. "Fuck. You."

The Templar stared at the gesture, confused, only to be blindsided by the Aegis. As the shield collapsed again Fireteam Storm bombarded the Templar with everything they had: bullets, grenades, the odd Super.

"P-PRAISE HIM!" the Templar cried out as fiery orange light burst out of the cracks in its shell. " _ **PRAISE HIM!**_ "

 **(End 'Invisible Depths)**

As though a higher power had answered Kayla's silent prayers the Templar crashed the to the ground, rolling and screaming in a defiant rage before exploding into shards of metal and radiolarian fluid. Chunks of the Templar's shell clattered onto the stone floor, a cacophony of brass and steel ringing out in the gloom. The fog dissipated, the Oracles slowly blinking out of existence with them. Collapsing onto the floor Kayla slowly looked around at her teammates. All of them were being healed by their ghosts, panting and exhausted by the nightmarish fight they had just endured.

Athena was over in a corner, hunched over with her hand on her knee as she came down from her adrenaline rushed. Kayla could hear arguing with Owl, but the ringing in her own ears prevented her from making out what they were saying. Jumping down from his sniping spot, Shifter came over to the group, his limp fading out as Sebby healed him. He didn't say anything, but one could tell that he was trying to process the fight, or more specifically, the fight Kabr would have had to have endured, now with the full knowledge of what his friend had gone through. Jaeger was busy pulling shards of Fanatics out of his arm, calm as anything though Kayla could feel that he was shaken up by the ordeal. Nearly being erased would do that to you, and she felt it best to not broach the subject so soon after the battle. Oddly enough, Hayley seemed to have had a massive confidence boost upon the Templar's defeat. While the Sunsinger was not a giddy mess of happiness, Kayla could tell Hayley had found an inner strength within herself and the Voidwalker could only hope that Hayley would keep it for the rest of the task ahead of them. Finally, Kayla turned to Delta, who was stood on the end of the upper platform, staring down at the remains of the Templar. He seemed to be caught in a stunned disbelief of what had happened.

"Eyes up, Kayla," Ghost said, floating next to his Guardian.

"Ah…hey, Ghost," Kayla said with a faint smile, sitting up slightly.

Ghost returned it with a polite bob before looking away. When he looked back he was practically shaking. "W-We beat the Templar!" he exclaimed in a quiet whisper. "One of the Vex's toughest units, and we _beat it!_ "

"Easy there, buddy," Kayla said, standing up and dusting herself down, before heading to Delta. "We've still got a long way to go."

Delta stared at the crumpled, smouldering chassis of the Templar when he felt Kayla's hand on his shoulder.

"I don't think I've ever seen you this shocked, D," Kayla said.

"Yeah…I…" he started, before frowning. "I genuinely expected us to die…" Delta turned to Kayla. "In my time as a Guardian I never had to face a battle with an expectation that I might not come back. I'm…not sure what to make of it…"

Kayla looked away, thinking for a moment. "Well…in my case...remembering my own death, that…cold, clammy hand that slowly dragged me off into the abyss during the Collapse…It reminds me that I'm alive." Kayla looked at her friend, Delta seeing the glimmer of determination in her eyes. "The feeling of having escaped death once already, _remembering_ and holding on to that feeling…it gives me the strength to do what I do."

Delta mulled over it for a second before nodding. "Not often you're the one giving _me_ advice!" he chuckled.

Kayla grinned. "By the way, where's Sal?"

Delta smiled, unfurling his hands. Shaking inside the safety of his palms was a timid green ghost. "I-I'm ok…I'm still here!" Sal said faintly. "I just need a minute…or five…"

"She'll be alright," Delta said.

Kayla nodded and headed up to her team. "We're all still in one piece, right?" Kayla asked. Collective murmurs were the response, prompting Kayla to put her hands on her hips. "Come on, guys! Did you see what we just beat? We just kicked the arse of one of the Vex's most powerful Axis Minds! Not every Guardian can say that!" Kayla walked into the centre of them all, turning to look at each of them as she did so. "We've proved to the Vanguard and ourselves that we can do this! And, hopefully, we've proved to whatever that _thing_ down in there…" Kayla pointed to large circular plate that made the door to the inner vault. "That we will! Not! Back! Down!"

The team looked at each other, before collectively eying the Templar's corpse. Slowly there were nods of agreement and, before long, the uncertainty in their faces was slowly replaced by a quiet confidence. Kayla looked at her team, smiling.

"Now that's how you inspire confidence," she grinned.

"Or suicide…" Ghost said quietly, floating next to her.

"Oh, don't be such a buzzkill!" Kayla laughed. "We did good." She glanced over at her friends, Delta stood next to her. "Yeah. We did good."

"You ready, Captain?" Delta asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Kayla replied.

"Alright, guys! Form up!" Delta ordered.

" _Right!_ "

The group formed up behind the pair, Kayla stepping forward to the door. "Atheon!" she boomed, voice reverberating off the cavern walls. "You've seen what we've done to your pet! Let us in, or I swear to _God_ we'll find some way to kick that door of yours in ourselves!"

"Did she just threaten a Vex god?" Jaeger whispered to Shifter.

"Wouldn't be the craziest thing you've seen," Shifter deadpanned.

"You know what, fair."

Kayla stood firm with bated breath. Ghost hovered next to her, nervous. His faith in his Guardian, while unwavering, seemed to cower in the presence of Templar. The little drone hadn't felt fear, real fear, since the Dark Age when Warlords and Iron Lords waged brutal battles for reasons that seemed trivial in comparison to this. The Vault of Glass was a Vex stronghold unlike any other. Could they really do this?

A loud rumble broke him out of his thoughts.

"It's… _opening!_ " Ghost gasped.

Kayla watched the bottom half of the door unwind, scraping against the rust and the stone floor with an unearthly groan, a lump forming in her throating. Suddenly she felt very small in comparison to the Vault.

But she had to press forward.

"Team," she said. "Back in the Golden Age, Old Britain had a monarchy. Her private guard's motto was one to inspire hope in the face of overwhelming adversity. So, in the honour of my former nation and my…lack of word. Onwards: to death…or glory!"

" _HOORAH!_ "

* * *

 **Next Time:** Fireteam Storm have breached the Vault and destroyed the Templar, something even the mighty Kabr could not do. Now they go deeper but must make it through their most terrifying encounter yet. Join them next time in **Chapter 1-31: The Gorgon's Labyrinth.**


	31. 1-31) ERROR 417

**A/N:** Yes, it's been a while. I want to thank you for your patience with me and thank the people who sent messages of support. It…I never realised how much this story was loved. I know most of you don't leave feedback, but I just want you to know I am grateful that you all take the time to read this. I will be leaving the update up for a few weeks just so everyone is on the same page.

A big thank you to TJMike for helping me work out some kinks in this chapter!

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. Destiny, Destiny 2 and their expansions are all owned by Bungie. I only own Fireteam Storm and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 05:** The Vault of Glass

 **Chapter 031:** /ERROR 417/

 _ **The Vault of Glass**_

 _ **Templar's Well**_

It'd been little over two hours since Fireteam Storm had started the raid on the Vault of Glass. For Kayla it felt longer, though she couldn't tell if that was because of the way time worked in the Vault. By happenstance or through sheer bad luck all their clocks were beginning to go faulty, something that worried Kayla. They had entered the Vault of Glass, sure, but something told Kayla that the part they were in was more or less the porch of the Vault and that the true power of the Vex lied beyond the open door they were all stood before. Even then this would only be a fraction of the Vex's capabilities.

Mercury could vouch for that.

"You ok, runt?" Athena asked, snapping Kayla out of her thoughts.

"Shouldn't it be _Capitano_?" Kayla said, smirking under her helmet.

"We're not fighting a giant Vex monster anymore!" Athena said with a hearty laugh.

The pair watched the others head towards the door to the inner Vault. Although there was a silence between them both knew each other well enough to know that the other was nervous about what lay beyond the gate. With a reassuring pat on Kayla's shoulder Athena set off. Kayla glanced at Ghost, who nodded in silence, before running to take point.

The cavern beyond was much like the Trail of Kabr, a path full of damp volcanic rocks and sulphurous fumes that winded and weaved like a snake. After a while, however, the rocks gave way to the familiar Vex blocks and pillars.

"Someone's been busy," Delta murmured, staring at the small canals of Vex milk that had begun to appear.

"Don't touch it!" Hayley whispered, slapping his hand away. "You don't know what they could do to you!"

"I can see them again…" Shifter said gravely, alerting everyone. "The projections. The Vex, they know who I am…"

"Me too…" Athena said quietly. "They keep showing me _her_ …"

Kayla looked at her teammates before walking up to them. "Listen to me, both of you," she said, taking their hands. "You're with us, you are _safe_ with us. Ignore the Vex, they're trying to break you, make you think you're weaker than you are."

"Yeah…" Athena said, voice breaking as her eyes focused on a nearby hanged corpse of Artemis. "And it's working…"

Kayla moved into the path of her vision. "Focus on me, not whatever's there. You're stronger than this. I believe in you."

"R-Right…" Athena nodding, breaking her line of sight and continuing down the path.

Delving further and ignoring the whispers that the starlight sang to them the group stuck to the winding path of Vex architecture before them, soon coming across a large hole in the ground. Delta peered over, finding nothing but inky darkness.

"Seems like a pit to Hell…" he mused, turning back to the team. "Hayley, what does Kabr's journal say."

Hayley flipped through the book's pages, starting at the dog-eared Templar pages. Through the bizarre dating system of the journal she final came to a page that was blank aside from a large, scrawled sketch of a Harpy covered in what appeared to be shimmering light. Underneath it, in large, underlined letters was one word

Gorgon.

Slowly she turned the tattered page, finding a new entry.

 _This is the furthest we've ever made it. That…I've ever made it. Who was with me? I feel like I should know…_

 _After I escaped the Templar, I/WE found a large hole. We jumped down, while I stayed behind and PRAISE HIM. When I reached the bottom I felt the shadows of who was with me begging me to leave, but I had to go on, just like Osiris told me to. WE wandered alone, forgotten, as the shadows of our past chased us. How long have WE/I been PRAISE HIM._

 _I've wandered through this labyrinth together. The Harpies here, like the stars before now…they decide whether you are real, and whether anyone remembers PRAISE HIM. There are glitches in my memory. I think the Vex are messing with me. They're in my blood and my mind…not long now…_

 _Someone died here today. I was alone, but the took him. And I was alone. The Gorgons spotted him and…I can't…I don't remember…_

 _To whoever reads this and believes they can take on the Vault of Glass…do_ _ **NOT**_ _let the Gorgons catch your gaze, and do not split up._

 _The only way is down. Stay together, or end up like_ **PRAISEHIMPRAISEHIMPRAISEHIMPRAISEHIM**

"Jesus fucking Christ…" Kayla said, taking a deep breath.

Ghost appeared over her shoulder, peering into the pit as his light shone down, illuminating it. To Kayla's dismay she couldn't see anything save for the glint of purple crystals in the reflection of Ghost's light.

"What can you see?" Kayla asked.

"Not much…" Ghost murmured.

"Great!" Athena said sarcastically, earning a sharp look from Kayla.

Ghost scanned the pit a little more, mumbling to himself. Finally, he turned to the group. "The wall of this pit is Vex architecture, there just…isn't much of it," he said, moving from side to side as if he were shaking his head. "It goes down about twenty feet, but then it opens up into more rock. I can sense Vex down there, right at the very bottom."

"How many?" Delta asked.

"Nine."

The group looked at each other, a feeling of mutual concern amongst them. Only nine Vex? What kind of Vex were they if they only needed nine? The implications of Kabr's journal made the group uneasy of what they were going to face. For Kayla, her main concern was keeping her friends safe. If the Gorgons here decided whether they were real or not, then it was all the more important for her to defend them…Somehow…

"If you want to back out, now's your chance," Kayla said, staring at the pit.

"Never," Delta said. Kayla turned to see him grinning like an idiot.

"…I don't want you all getting killed following me…"

"You chose us. So trust us. We got your back."

Kayla looked at Delta, then the others, all stood firm in solidarity. They were in this together, victory or not. She didn't want them to fall with her but…she new they were all too stubborn to let her do it alone. She chuckled quietly. Perhaps she was too stubborn for her own good too.

"Right then," she said, teetering on the edge of the pit. "Shall we?"

* * *

 _ **The Vault of Glass**_

 _ **Gorgon's Labyrinth**_

After a lot of careful manoeuvring down the dark chasm the area opened up as light from the Vex structures below brightened their way. To Kayla's surprise, at the bottom of the pit was a large grassy covered cavern. Small red flowers, not too dissimilar to the ones in the Black Garden, sprouted across the cavern floor and the sounds of running water from the streams that crisscrossed the area made the entire place feel eerily serene.

While the others landed Kayla could hear faint whispers in the back of her head, trying to claw their way into the doubt in her heart. With a small sigh she turned to the others.

"Stay close," she said. "Don't get spotted. And don't let the Vex's hallucinations throw you off."

"Easier said than done…" Shifter muttered gruffly.

"I know it's unnerving, but the moment you let the Vex into your head they win," Kayla said, a little softer. "I saw what they did to the Cabal on Mars."

"Oh, and they're in your head, are they?" Shifter asked sharply.

"Yes, actually!" Kayla snapped, pointing over to a large boulder. The group looked, only to see nothing but the faint dripping of water. "I keep seeing my family half mutated into Hive!"

Kayla caught herself before she said anything else, her voice echoing in the cavern. There was an awkward pause, followed by the sounds of Shifter's footsteps as he walked up to Kayla.

"I'm…sorry," he said quietly. "Just a grumpy old Exo…"

Kayla looked at him for a moment. "It's fine," she said with a shake of her head. "I'm sorry too."

"I hate to break up this touching moment," Jaeger said, backing up slightly. "But we got trouble on our left!"

The group all turned in panic. A large shadow loomed across the dimly lit cavern wall, prompting the group to hide behind one of the mossy rocks. From her hiding spot Kayla could see a large silver Harpy come from around the corner. Its body was a hard platinum colour, but the edges seem to fade into a bright translucent white with a pattern that looked like a datalattice covering it. The tentacles behind it matched the pattern and its single eye glowed a haunting white-blue colour. The most unnerving thing about the Harpy was the lack of noise. Most Vex Kayla had would normally squawk amongst themselves when they weren't screaming about her deletion at her, but this one just sailed past in complete silence, its single eye not even moving as though it wasn't even aware of its surroundings.

"That must have been a Gorgon," Kayla said quietly, coming out from behind the rock as the Gorgon turned a corner. "Stay out of their sight guys," she added, turning. "Guys?"

Kayla scrambled behind the rock, blood running cold as she realised they were gone. Supporting herself on the rock, she took deep breaths to calm the sick bubble welling up in her stomach. Ghost came out beside her, concerned. The Warlock held up her a finger as her breathing slowed to a stable manner, Ghost obliging.

"Are you alright?" Ghost asked, before shaking himself. "No, stupid question…I'm picking up five Guardian signatures down here. The others are still in this cavern but given what the Vex have been doing to you guys, I'd rather not leave them alone for too long."

Kayla nodded, readying Iris' Rifle. "Stay close to me," she said. "You're gonna have to be my eyes and ears since the Vex don't seem to be messing with you."

* * *

 _ **The Vault of Glass**_

 _ **Gorgon's Labyrinth**_

 _ **Elsewhere…**_

"I can't _believe_ you lost them!" Cheryl said angrily as she and her Guardian wandered the cavern.

"Look, it's not my fault!" Jaeger protested. "They were right with me! Damn Vex like to screw with us…"

Cheryl gave a heavy sigh. Maybe she was too harsh on Jaeger sometimes. He was right, it wasn't his fault they'd got lost. Still she couldn't help but feel protective of the Bladedancer. She'd already watched him die once trying to protect her. He was still mortal at that point, standing in the face of that _thing_ even though he knew he'd lose.

She'd never admit it, but Jaeger meant the world to her. Even he if was a perverted smartass.

"Can you get in contact with the other Ghosts?" Jaeger asked.

"No…" Cheryl said, her single eye frowning. "But I am reading five other Guardian signatures. One of them is actively moving through the cavern. If we can meet with that one, we might stand a better chance. But…"

"The Gorgons?" Jaeger asked, twirling his Vanity in his right hand.

"Yes. If the Vex are messing with our minds, keeping an eye out for them will be tricky."

"Don't worry about it," Jager said, grinning at Cheryl. "We got this."

As the pair turned a rock corner Jaeger stopped dead. There were…buildings down here. Ramshackle huts made of steel and wood amongst the ruins of existing buildings. In the air he could smell the raw crackling of electricity and burned flesh.

"Can you…can you see this?" Jaeger asked slowly.

"Yes…" Cheryl said, concern evident in her voice. "I know it's not real but…"

"Well, _I_ know it's not real too, but I can still see it!"

"Don't snap at me!"

Jaeger looked at the burning village in front of him. "We should go back…"

As he turned, he found himself in the burning square of a village. Flashes of a fierce, harrowing battle played through his mind causing him to stumble slightly. Cheryl went up to him, but he motioned that he was alright. Jaeger felt something hit his mask. What was it…rain? How? Jaeger looked around the village for anything, a sign or something. The Vex had to be showing him this for some reason.

 **(Black Impact- RE2 OST)**

Jaeger stepped forward, hearing the crunch of split wood under his boot. He looked, seeing a mud-covered sign on the floor. Hesitant, he wiped the mud off almost doubling back in fear as his blood ran cold.

"W-We need to leave," Jaeger said, his voice hoarse. "We need to leave _now!_ "

Cheryl looked at the spooked Hunter, then the sign. Lightning flashed revealing the name of the village.

Dwindler's Ridge.

"Oh no…" she whispered, turning to face Jaeger, only to find him heading down one of the village's alleyways. "Jaeger! Jaeger, wait!"

"I'm not waiting!" he replied as she flew up to him.

"Jaeger, this isn't real!"

"Yeah, well it looks pretty fucking real to me!"

The pairs arguing was cut abruptly short as large armoured fist crashed through a nearby wall, dust, stone and rubble flying everywhere. The Guardian and his Ghost froze in fear as something in the shape of a man clambering through the hole. Jaeger stood, frozen in fear, as a heavily armoured, black-clad Titan stood there, turning his head slowly towards him. His helmet was broken on the right side, revealing a single emerald green eye that seemed to bear a smile of teeth. Holstered on his left leg was a revolver, reviled in modern history. The man slowly reached for the cursed gun, revealing the bones of Hive that had fused onto the body of that twisted weapon.

And then the man began to walk up to Jaeger, a slow, menacing gait that caused the ground to shake with every stomp of his boot.

"J-Jesus Christ!" Jaeger shouted, firing on the man in panic. "Stay back!"

The Titan shrugged off the bullets, forcing Jaeger to double back on himself. Cheryl followed quickly, unsure of what think. She was scared. The presence the copy of that man exerted was almost as terrifying as the real thing. Is this what the Vex did? Turn your fears against you.

She screamed as a hand grabbed her. Looking up in panic she could see Jaeger's mask, calming her somewhat. The Bladedancer vaulted a broken window, hiding underneath as the stomp of the Titan neared where they were.

"R-Remember," Cheryl said quietly. "H-he's not real…"

Jaeger looked down at her. She was shaking and her shell was cold to the touch. Jaeger held her close as they sat in silence while the Titan moved around outside, smashing windows and breaking down doors.

"Somehow…" Jaeger said, trying to keep calm. "I think that _that_ gun can still hurt us."

Cheryl remained silent, looking up at Jaeger. "You saw what he did to Amelia…" she said, causing Jaeger to wince at the name. "He took one of those thorns and tortured her with it…while I watched! And then I had to watch him put a Fist of Havoc _through you,_ and there's no Golden Gun to save us this time, you stupid, stupid…!"

"Hey, easy…" Jaeger said, stroking her shell as she sobbed. "We got this."

"Can you promise that?" Cheryl asked quietly.

"No…" Jaeger admitted. "But it's the best I've got."

The sound of glass being punched through spurred Jaeger to move to the next room, looking for the back door to this ramshackle house. As Jaeger darted through the small rooms the chilling sound of a knife carving through flesh flew past his ear. He turned around, seeing the Titan stood in a decayed doorway, Thorn in hand.

It wasn't the likeness of the man that scared Jaeger, nor the Weapon of Sorrow. It was the eerie silence that radiated from him. Jaeger eyed a doorway, reaching for his Vanity with his right hand. The Titan fired on him, Jaeger narrowly dodging the spiked bullet and throwing his left arm out, releasing a small, narrow dagger hidden in his sleeve. The Titan screamed in pain as the blade buried itself just above his exposed eye, buying the Bladedancer enough time to dash to the next room.

"I-it's a dead end!" Cheryl cried, before yelping as Jaeger grabbed her. "What are you doing?!"

"You're really not going to like this" Jaeger said, aiming Cheryl at the nearby window.

Cheryl looked at Jaeger, then the window. Her eye spun back to him. "Don't you dare, don't you…" she growled as Jaeger threw her. " _Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare!_ "

Cheryl braced herself as she collided with the glass, feeling it shatter around her shell before landing in the damp rocky ground outside. She rolled around slightly, glaring at the broken window. "I hate you sometimes!" she screamed as Jaeger vaulted the windowpane.

"I know!" Jaeger said, grabbing her and bolting back to the square.

The Hunter kept to the village's small alleyways, deliberately taking the longest route possible as he made his way back to the ruined centre of the village. When they arrived he slowed, catching his breath. Cheryl hesitantly flew in front of him.

"What do we do?" she asked. Jaeger looked at her, motioning to the Arma Engine on his back. Cheryl's eye widened. "You can't be serious!"

"It's either that or try and find the Vex responsible," Jaeger shrugged, walking to the fountain in the middle. "For now…we wait."

* * *

 _ **Elsewhere…**_

Athena wandered around the caverns, Owl in sticking by her closely. Something happened when they came down here. They were together and then she turned around and they were…gone. Only this rocky corridor remained.

"I'm picking up distortions in reality," Owl commented as they made their way down the cavern.

"Time travel?" Athena asked.

"No," Owl replied. "Illusions. Be careful."

Owl kept a light over Athena's shoulder as they continued twisting through the tunnels. It was like peering down a rabbit hole and given the Vex's current taunts of through Artemis in Athena's face Owl didn't like the thought of what they would try to do to his Guardian. Athena raised her hand, motioning Owl to stop. Slowly she touched one of the walls.

"It's wood," Athena said, looking forward. They were in a corridor. A hotel corridor judging by the numbered doors and fancy red carpeted floor. Athena frowned. "Can you hear that?"

 _Sweet berries ready for two/Ghosts are no different than you…_

Athena slowly stepped forward, the floorboards creaking under her boot as she crept down the corridor. On the far end of the corridor was a half-open door. The singing was come from in there. Athena's eyes narrowed and, against Owl's protests, she pressed forward.

 _Ghost are now waiting for you/Are you…_

She knew this voice. Athena bit her lip, stretching out her hand. "Artemis?"

… _Dreaming?_ _Dreaming the night…_

"Athena," Owl said, flying in front of her face. He was serious, more so than usual. "Whoever is behind that door, she are not real."

Athena looked at her ghost, shaking her head a little. "She is to me."

Before Owl could stop her Athena barged into the room. Sat alone at the end of the bed was a woman in her thirties. Her blonde hair came to just below her exposed shoulders and her slender body was wrapped in a mint-green Greek-style dress. The woman turned to look at the Sunbreaker with her chocolate brown eyes. Her soft smile was almost sad.

"Hello, Athena," Artemis said.

* * *

 _ **Elsewhere…**_

Hayley found herself in a darkened room. It was night time and the cavernous stone walls cast long, winding shadows lit by the chandeliers on the ceiling. It was quiet and Hayley could hear every echo of her footsteps ring out in the gloom. Crusher stayed close to her, his light reaching out into the inky black.

They were in some kind of castle, one by the sea if the crash of waves beneath them were anything to go by. And there were people. Thugs. Bandits. Risen. But they didn't seem to notice her as she made her way through the halls. It was as though she was a castle haunting the ancient stone walls.

"Crusher, where are we?" Hayley asked, gripping her gun tight.

Crusher remained silent, making Hayley frown. It wasn't like him to not answer her, and the grim seriousness of how he was carrying himself was strange. Hayley waved a hand in front of him. "Hello? City to Crusher?" she said.

"Focus on finding an exit," he replied.

Hayley stopped. "…You're hiding something!" she said, a hint of irritation in her voice. "Aren't you?"

"Hayley, I am not arguing," the ghost growled, pushing past her. "We need to go."

"No, what are you hiding?" Hayley shouted, grabbing Crusher's shell and holding him in place. "Where are we?!"

"Trust me, Hayley," Crusher snapped, sending off a small, sharp electric shock. "When I say some things are better left forgotten!"

The bickering was broken up by a loud agonised scream. Hayley looked at Crusher then took off down the hall much to his frustration.

"Hayley-13, get back here!"

Hayley sprinted down the castle halls, following the echoes of the screams with Crusher in pursuit. Powering up a heavily stone staircase the pair came out at what appeared to be a throne room. It was delipidated, putting it in the Dark Age, with several old paintings of people she didn't know hung on the walls. Banners draped from the ceiling with a corrupted symbol of Clovis Bray printed on them. Around her where several heavily armoured men and women that she sensed were mortal. They were laughing and jeering at a small, terrified family kneeling in the centre of the room.

"Please…" the mother said, holding her young daughter close. "We've given you all we can…we don't have anything more to give…"

"My rules were simple," came a young voice from within the crowd. "100,000 Glimmer per adult. 50,000 per child. You've already shortchanged me once."

Hayley watched as a female Exo in long flowing robes and a jewelled crown came from the crowd, standing over the family with a glint of sadism in her eyes while drinking from a gem-encrusted chalice. The Exo's face made Hayley's circuits run cold.

"Lady Hayley…" the father started, his voice a mix of fear and fury. "You've torn up our lands…burned our homes…we work to support you…surely that is enough!"

The other Hayley nearly choked on her drink, glaring at the man. "Enough?!" she screamed, hurling the chalice at the man's face. "Was it not _me_ that cleared out the Fallen?! Was it not _me_ that got your factories working again?! Have I not kept my word that you are protected under my rule?! Huh?!"

The little girl cried out as the other Hayley grabbed her father by the throat, Solar Light rippling from her palms, causing the man to cry out as the smell of burning flesh filled the air much to the joy of the baying mob around them. "You know how my punishments go," she growled. "We wouldn't want you to have a little accident here, would we?"

"Hayley-7…" came a subdued voice. It was another Crusher. "There's no need…."

Hayley-7 glanced at her ghost, then threw the man roughly to the ground. "You definitely wouldn't be coming back from the castle, I'll tell you that much."

Hayley-13 stood frozen to the spot. She could sense Crusher, _her_ Crusher, was talking to her, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. There was only white noise. Was this really a past self in front of her? Why couldn't she remember this? She could barely kill a Dreg when she arrived in the City. The other Hayley, Hayley-7, paced in a circle before pulling out a sidearm and aiming it at the man.

"Pay up," she said simply.

"I told you we don't have the money!" the man shouted, standing up only to be subdued by Hayley-7's guards.

"Then find it."

"What?! How can…!"

"No! Nononono. No. Here's what I'm going to do if you don't pay up," Hayley-7 said, grabbing the man's partner and shoving the barrel of the gun into her mouth. "First I'm going to splatter her pretty face all over my nice castle floor."

The woman cried out in pain as Hayley-7 threw her to the ground, crawling away to comfort her crying daughter. The Exo Warlord scoffed and went over to the child, roughly holding her up by her arm, shaking her with every word. "And then I'm going to give her a front row seat to the execution of the only man in this shithole 'brave' enough to say no to me!"

Hayley-7 dropped the girl on the floor like she a broken toy and sauntered up to the man, lifting his chin with a single finger. Her voice was low, deadly. "And then I'm gonna to keep her here, forever, and I'm gonna break her until she's just. Like. Me. Is that what you want? Is it?"

The man's panicked eyes danced from Hayley-7 to his terrified family. "…No…" he said weakly.

"Good boy," Hayley-7 said, turning to one of her guards. "Take the brat to the mines."

"No…!" the man cried out.

"No!" Hayley-13 screamed as she watched the guards try and separate the crying child from her mother.

"Well, I'm not just gonna let you walk out of without a bargaining chip, am I?" Hayley-7 said, laughing gleefully.

"Stop it!" Hayley-13 shrieked. "Just stop this! This isn't me!"

Hayley-7 turned, looking in her direction. Looking through her. Hayley-13 froze, staring at her double in shock and revulsion.

"You ok, boss?" one of the guards asked.

"I…thought I heard something…" Hayley-7 replied faintly before leaving the throne room.

Hayley-13 couldn't move. Was this her? Was she this evil? What would Kayla and the others say if they found out? All she could do was watch as the guards gleefully tormented the family in front of her. The ghosts of a past she felt was better left forgotten.

* * *

 _ **Elsewhere…**_

Shifter sat cross-legged on a rooftop. His breathing was slow. On his lap was his 20/20, fully loaded and ready for whatever came at him. Beside him were Kabr , Praedyth and Pahanin. They were laughing about raiding the Vault of Glass, something Shifter knew was designed to mock him.

They were gone, and Shifter had had enough resets to recognise when he was being tricked.

And so he waited, listening to their carefully crafty words.

Sebby looked up at him from his lap, a curious but silent look in his eye. Shifter slowly put a finger to his lips.

He would wait for the opportune moment. Such was the life of a Nightstalker.

* * *

 _ **Elsewhere…**_

It had been a while since Delta had lost track of the group. One minute they were there, the next they were gone. Out of everything he'd fought he was starting to think he hated the Vex the most. At least Sepiks had a quirky personality. Delta stuck to the stream running through the cavern keeping to the shadows in the hopes that whatever Vex were down here, though he wouldn't be surprised if they could already see him.

"How you holding up, Sal?" Delta asked.

"I-I'm ok, I'm just a little nervous…" she said quietly.

"Me too, Sal…" Delta said, coughing slightly. "Jesus…what the hell…?"

Delta looked around as the cavern become hazier, the air thick with smoke prompting Delta to cough uncontrollably. "Ack! Where's this smoke coming from?" Delta spluttered, switching on his armour's filtration system.

Sal and Delta hesitantly looked at each other before stepping forward. Slowly the cavern seemed to warp into a patchwork of Reef-work houses from a frontier town in flames. Several Awoken guards were running around, guns drawn. They seemed to be searching for someone, raiding houses and throwing people into the middle of the street. Delta quickly ducked into an alleyway as a squad of guards marched past, slowly peeking out into the smoke-drenched chaos.

"I-is this…?" Sal asked quietly.

"Can't be…" Delta whispered.

"Alright, Lightbearer," came a smooth oily voice from further down the street. "Wherever you're hiding we will find you. We wouldn't want anymore trouble for these purebred Awoken. Trouble that your existence is causing, I might add."

Delta looked through the scope of his rifle, spotting the smug snake-like grin of Uldren Sov amongst the flames.

"Oh, shit…" he groaned.

* * *

 **Next time:** With Fireteam Storm ensnared by the Vex simulations Kayla finds herself in a race against the Gorgons to save them. How will they escape? Find out next time in **Chapter 1-32:- Aerials**


	32. 1-32) Aerials

**A/N:** I know there is a _lot_ of creative liberty with the Labyrinth segment of this arc, however the Gorgon's Labyrinth seemed like the right area to lay down groundwork for character arcs. Things will be back to the regular Vault of Glass with the next chapter.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. Destiny, Destiny 2 and all their expansions are owned by Bungie. I only own Fireteam Storm and other OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Saga 01:** Guardian Rising

 **Arc 05:** The Vault of Glass

 **Chapter 032:** Aerials

 _ **Vault of Glass**_

 _ **Gorgon's Labyrinth**_

Jaeger felt his back smack against the hard cobbled ground as the Titan threw him yet again. Rolling nimbly onto his feet, sliding in the rain slick mud, Jaeger pulled out his Vanity and began firing on the man once more.

' _Gotta stay out of close range,'_ he thought as the Titan raised his Thorn again.

Six shots from the Weapon of Sorrow fired as Jaeger dancing around the Devourer bullets, turning and grabbing one just inches away from his face. The Titan cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Hi, there!" Jaeger chuckled, throwing the Devourer back at Titan, following up with a flurry of electrified knives.

The Titan grunted as the knives buried themselves in his armour, glaring angrily at the Bladedancer. Jaeger smirked. "You hit harder the last time we fought!" he shouted. "I still have the scar to prove it!"

The Titan stayed silent, holstering Thorn and charging his fists with Arc energy. Jaeger rolled his eyes, feigning disappointment.

"This again? Really?" he sighed.

" _Don't annoy him!_ " Cheryl shouted from her hiding place near a boulder.

Suddenly a shout rang throughout the cavern. "Jaeger!"

Both the Titan and Jaeger turned to see Kayla barrelling towards them. Before either of them had a chance to react Kayla pounced on the Titan's back, knocking him forward before smacking him in his exposed eye with the butt of her Matador.

"Christ, he's built like a freaking _bear!_ " Kayla shouted, hanging on as the man stumbled round trying to shake her off.

A stunned Cheryl slowly flew up to an equally stunned Jaeger.

"I really wish I could take a picture of this," Jaeger deadpanned.

"Dammit, hold still!" Kayla snapped, trying to position the Titan in front of Ghost. "Alright, you ready?"

"Yeah," Ghost replied. "Brace yourself."

Before Jaeger had a chance to react a piercing shriek reverberated through the cavern. The Titan roared in pain, throwing Kayla off into the mud. Jaeger instinctively charged his Arc Blade, stopping short as the man's form flickered like static. Under the guise of the Titan was a large, shining Harpy that Jaeger recognised from Kabr's journal.

"A Gorgon?" Cheryl gasped, looking at Jaeger in shocked surprise.

"Right, now we're in trouble…" Kayla muttered, standing up.

The Gorgon turned, shrieking at her as its eye glowed bright. Thinking quickly, Jaeger dashed up to it and grabbed one of its ridged wings. The Gorgon shrieked again, trying to grab at him with its tendrils. Jaeger chuckled, twirling the Arc Blade in his hand before plunging it into the Gorgon's eye sending powerful waves of electricity through the Gorgon's body. The Vex unit shrieked, spinning around wildly and throwing Jaeger off before exploding into shrapnel.

Catching her breath, Kayla helped Jaeger stand before dusting herself down. A silent nod from him told Kayla all she needed to know. Cheryl came up to them, still shaking slightly. Slowly she nudged Jaeger's cheek, then frowned.

"You tell anyone I did that I will personally end you!" she hissed.

"Yes ma'am," Jaeger said with a laugh. "So…that was a Gorgon?"

Kayla nodded. "But why waste time with the illusions…"

"Well, it seemed to get a kick out of hunting me," Jaeger shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised if the Vex have already scanned our brains or something. Fucking starfishes…"

"That man…he was a Titan," Kayla said. "Why would they make a Titan and send it after you?" Jaeger remained silent and when Kayla looked at him, she noticed the pained look on his face. Her eyes narrowed. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she added.

"No, it's fine," Jaeger said. "You're too fresh to know about the Dwindler's Ridge Incident." The Hunter folded his arms, nudging the dead eye of the Gorgon with his foot. "The man this thing took the shape of was a man named Dredgen Yor. I won't go into too much detail. Hurt's too much, but I will say this. Not all Guardians are good, and that man is the reason I am a one."

Kayla watched as Jaeger lifted his vest, revealing a huge twisted, sunken scar the size of a man's fist on his stomach. "Oh, my God…" she gasped.

"For better or worse," Jaeger chuckled with a lopsided grinned. "The one on the other side is even cooler!"

The pair laughed a moment, before Kayla spoke up again. "Ghost has a read on the other team members."

"I suggest finding them quickly," Ghost added. "Although the Gorgons seem to have a thing for tormenting their prey, they can decide to erase your existence on a whim." Then he looked down. "I just hope their single-minded enough for us to get the jump on them."

* * *

"How can you be here?" Athena asked, putting a gentle hand on Artemis's lap.

Artemis gave a sad sigh. "You know why. Even if you won't say it, you know why I'm here."

The couple sat in silence. Only the rhythmic ticking of the clock on the wall broke the silence. Athena looked around. Everything was neatly presented. The bed. The dresser. The mirror. The photos of the pair. It was perfect.

And it was all fake. She knew that. Athena was a Titan, but she wasn't stupid.

"You need to leave," Artemis said sternly.

"I want to stay."

Artemis stood up, running her hands through her hair as she shook her head. " _Malaka!_ " she said, irritated. "You were always so stubborn!"

"Would you have me any other way?" Athena asked with a small, sad smile.

Artemis grabbed Athena's wrists, pulling her up. Athena had forgot how much short she was than her. Lightning in a bottle she used to say. Even as a simulation her beauty was untarnished.

"Athena, please," Artemis said, leading Athena to the door.

"Artemis…" Athena said softly, struggling against the Striker's grip

"Stop being stupid, Athena!"

The Sunbreaker pulled away defiantly. Swearing under her breath, Artemis slapped her across the face, a move that shocked her partner.

"Fuck…" Athena gasped, holding her cheek.

"You can't stay here!" Artemis shouted. "The Gorgon that made me will erase you!"

Athena looked up at the Striker, heart aching as she cried, just like the real thing. She hated this. But at the same time, she wanted it as well. Athena glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Inside the glass the Gorgon waited in silence.

"I don't care," Athena said softly, lifting Artemis' chin and kissing her gently. "If I can still be with you."

* * *

Hayley-13 stood in silence, watching as the guards forced the screaming family out of the room. Then…silence. Hayley-13 glanced at 7 by the window. She new Exos rebooted themselves. She'd read enough on Clovis Bray to know about Dissociative Exomind Rejection, the effective braindeath of an Exo, and she knew all too well that it caused cases of the amnesia.

But being a Warlord six lives prior? How did she not know this? And what about Hayleys Eight through Twelve? All through this Crusher was silent and, judging from how he was hanging his 'face' he was more than ashamed.

"Do you not think I can feel you skulking in the shadows, Hayley-13?" Seven said, turning to face her with a soft smile. "You forgot about me."

"No, this is…this is wrong…" Hayley said quietly. "I'm not…how can you be me?"

"Ask him next to you," Seven replied, pointing at Crusher. "He's the one who's been lying to you."

"Can ya blame me?" he growled, flying in front of Hayley-13. "After everything I watched you do, why would I want _her_ to remember that?! You were outta control!"

"After everything…" Seven seethed. "I thought we were mates!"

Crusher glared at Hayley-7, his shell shaking in anger. Behind him he could hear Hayley-13 sobbing in confusion and disbelief. "Hayley…" he said softly, nudging her face with his body. "It's ok. Everything will be ok."

"No, no…" she said quietly, ashamed. "I'm not a tyrant…why…why would I do that to that poor family? To their little girl…"

"I'd say this was our finest hour," Seven scoffed, drinking from her chalice.

"No…" Hayley-13 breathed, wiping the tears from her eyes as she prepared her Scathelocke. "You will never be me!"

Seven watched in mild amusement as Hayley-13 gently pushed Crusher to the side, walking towards the throne. "I'm still there in your coding," she said dismissively. "How else would the Vex have created me?"

"You will _never be me!_ " Hayley-13 shouted. "I am a Guardian of the Last City! I am a _defender_ of the people! And Vex trick or not, I will delete every last trace of you that still exists in this body!"

 **(Handsome Jack theme- Borderlands 2 OST)**

Hayley-7 glared at the Sunsinger, casually throwing the half full chalice to the side. Slowly she stepped forward as ethereal phoenix wings grew from her back. To Hayley-13's shock her doppelganger pulled a flame drenched sword from thin air.

"No, Hayley-13," Seven said simply, all pretence of familiarity gone. "Now you will _bow_ before your Queen!"

Hayley-7 leaped up into the air at a terrifying speed, sending off waves of fire with every swipe of the sword. Hayley-13 dodged the spinning waves of flame as they exploded behind her, kicking up dust and rubble. Getting her bearings Hayley fired on her doppelganger with her Scathelocke.

"Nope!" Seven growled, plunge the sword downwards as she came crashing down into the floor, a shockwave of flame erupting from the point of impact and knocking Hayley back.

Hayley grit her teeth, moving to flank Seven. The Warlord watched, sword prepared. As she raised her blade to act again, Hayley dashed forward, throwing a Solar Grenade at Seven. Her doppelganger grunted in annoyance, doubling back as Hayley fired on her.

"Everything is by His design," Seven said, dashing forward with her sword ready. "You will not escape this place."

Hayley-13 let out a yelp as Seven attacked her with a powerful uppercut. She stumbled as the flames seared her chest, leaving a deep gash up her stomach. Hayley clutched her gut in pain, glaring at her double as Seven casually sauntered over to her.

"He could make you perfect you know," Seven said, sneering like a jackal. "He could make _everyone_ perfect…"

" _Will you shut up?!_ " Hayley screamed, charging up to Seven.

Seven, taken aback in surprise, braced herself as Hayley grabbed her shoulders before headbutting her in the bridge of the nose. The two Exos stumbled slightly, Seven grabbing her nose while Hayley held her forehead in dull pain. Shaking it off, Hayley fired on Seven once more shocking the Warlord.

"Oh, you still have bite?" she cackled as the bullets riddling her body.

Hayley dodged back as Seven took to the air once more, sending out more explosive waves of flame. The Sunsinger stuck to the cover of the furniture, keeping a close eye on Seven as she flew around the room. Taking a deep breath, Hayley switched to her Curtain Call and fired on the Dawnblade.

* * *

"That was an explosion!" Kayla shouted as she powered up the stone staircase. "Hurry up, Jaeger!"

"I'm more concerned that we're in Castle Wolfenstein!" Jaeger shouted back as the sound of gunfire got louder. "Damn Vex…"

Kayla and Jaeger came out a large corridor that seemed to stretch forever. One end was covered in inky-black shadows, the other was cornered off by a large wooden door. The gunfire seemed to come from there.

"Jaeger, with me!" Kayla said, taking off for the door. "Jaeger?"

She turned to the Hunter. He was staring at a large oil painting. Curious, Kayla ran up to him, covering her mouth as a small gasp escaped her. The painting was of a female Exo dressed in regal robes and a crown, holding a flame covered sword.

"That's Hayley…" Jaeger said quietly.

"Yeah…" Kayla murmured. Suddenly a scream echoed down the hall. " _That's_ Hayley!"

The pair took off in the direction of the door as the gunfire got more frantic, clashing with the sound of explosions. Kayla picked up speed as she heard Hayley scream out again, followed by the sounds of a struggle and a voice they didn't recognise.

"Shitshovelling infections, that's all humanity is."

When Kayla came to the door she motioned Jaeger to be quiet, preparing her rifle. Silently counting down from three she kicked the door open, charging in with Jaeger. Before either of them had a chance to fire Crusher flew up in front of them.

"Wait!" he shouted.

Kayla glanced at Crusher. He was frightened. Ghost came up to him. "What's wrong, Crusher?" he asked.

"Look…" Crusher replied, turning to the fighting.

Before the two Guardians were two Exos. One they recognised as a badly injured Hayley-13. The other was dressed like royalty, bearing a callous smirk on her face. Even with that expression Kayla recognised her as another Hayley.

"Oh, come on!" Jaeger groaned in dismay.

The two Exos turned to the Guardians. Before Hayley-13 had a chance to react, Seven dashed up to Kayla, bringing her sword down on the Voidwalker. Kayla braced herself to counter. Instead she was pushed back as Hayley-13 forced her way between them, left hand gripped tightly around the blade.

Ignoring the pain of the heat melting her hand, Hayley reached for Jaeger's kukri and plunged it in Seven's neck. Seven roared in pain, dropping the sword as she stepped backwards in shock. Hayley-13 screamed, tackling the Exo onto the floor. A clattering sound rang out as the crown rolled onto the floor. Hayley scrambled in panic, grabbing the crown and raising it above her head before bringing it down on Seven's with all her might.

"You! Are! Not! Me!" Hayley sobbed, smashing the crown down with every word. "I am not a monster! I am Hayley-13! I am _me_!"

Through the tears she could see Seven's head was smashed open, eyes dimmed and shrapnel scattered on the floor. Hayley leaned back, letting the crown roll away as she caught her haggard breath, tears filling her eyes as electrical fog surrounded her. When the fog cleared Hayley's face fell as the shape of a Gorgon phased into existence, grabbing her limp body with its tendrils as it sucked the breath out of Hayley's body.

"You're going to be…just…like…me…" Seven croaked out as she faded away to dust.

"O-oh…fuck…" Hayley said quietly, entranced by the Gorgon's eye.

"Now!" came Jaeger's muffled voice.

Hayley gasped as the suffocated force around her chest lifted, her vision coming back to her. In front of her were the flickering purple flames of a Nova Bomb and a shrieking Gorgon spinning out of control. Hayley shielded herself as the Gorgon exploded, chunks of metal flying everywhere.

 **(End Handsome Jack Theme)**

Kayla and Jaeger looked at each other, hesitant, before Kayla headed to Hayley. Before she had a chance to say anything Crusher flew in front of her.

"Back off!" he snapped angrily. "We don't need you!"

"Crusher…" Hayley said weakly.

"You'll just use her!" Crusher continued. "Like everyone else has!"

"Crusher!" Hayley said, more firmly. Crusher winced and turned to her. Slowly she beckoned him towards her. Crusher looked down and flew towards his Guardian like a sad puppy. "What was that about?" she asked tersely. "What are you hiding from me?"

Crusher looked at Hayley, then Kayla and Jaeger. "You…were a Warlord in the Dark Age," he said quietly. "Stuff happened between your seventh life and your current one. You won't remember any of it. I…" He fumbled for a bit, before sighing. "I don't want you to remember any of it."

"A Warlord?" Kayla asked Jaeger quietly.

"Kings and Queens of the Dark Age," Jaeger replied. "They usually protected large areas of territory at a heavy tribute price."

"When you reset into your thirteenth life, I realised you didn't remember your previous ones," Crusher continued solemnly. "I promised myself that I would protect you from…this." He bobbed around, gesturing to the castle around them. "I'm…sorry…"

Hayley thought for a moment, processing this new information. The thought of having been Hayley-7 terrified her. The idea of not knowing Hayley-8 to Hayley-12, and Crusher's apparent aversion to telling her anything beyond _stuff_ , scared her even more so. It finally made Crusher's aggressiveness towards strangers make sense, and it disturbed her the longer she dwelled on it. But…that wasn't important now.

Hayley sighed. "You and me need to have a serious talk when we get of here," she said, gently petting Crusher.

Crusher nodded slightly, then turned to Jaeger and Kayla. "You have an ex-Warlord on your team."

Kayla shrugged. "Well the Hayley I know isn't one."

Hayley looked up at Kayla in surprise. She was grinning at her. "You're still good in my book," she said.

Hayley's eyes lit up. She quickly stood up, barrelling into Kayla with a tight hug. Crusher looked away slightly. To his surprise Hayley brought him into the hug as well.

"So that's three Gorgons out of nine," Jaeger said to Kayla. "If we include the one you killed."

Kayla nodded before turning to Ghost. "Who's closest to us?"

Ghost thought for a moment, scanning his database. "I'm picking Sal's signature south of here," he said.

* * *

Delta kept to the shadows, using the twisted, burnt out husks of buildings as cover as he stealthily made his way through the sweeping patrols of the Awoken guards. Why here of all things? To mock him? Break him?

Was this some kind of grand Vex experiment?

At least they'd made an accurately punchable copy of Uldren Sov. Delta found himself chuckling at the thought of finely being able to one up the Prince for what he'd done. Then he shook his head. He needed to focus on getting out of here.

As he continued on through the flames found himself outside the hull of a docked ship. By his feet was a large hole that appeared to have been mangled open. Sal appeared by his shoulder.

"Is this…?" she asked hesitantly.

"Probably," Delta said with a shrug as he backed up before breaking into a dash and sliding through the hole. At the same time a flaming heap of debris crashing behind them, sealing them in the ship. Delta stood, looking wreckage behind them. "Just like last time…at least they're keeping thing consistent."

Delta sighed, readying his rifle and continued through the creaking hull of the ship. If the Vex were making him relive this night then, somewhere down these corridors, was an Awoken girl. As he ventured deeper inside he heard a sweet, almost songbird-like sound.

"That's her!" Delta shouted, taking off.

"Ah, wait!" Sal said. "Delta, you don't know what's down here!"

Delta rounded a corner, gun aimed. Stood by a sealed bulkhead was a youthful Awoken girl. She had silver eyes and deep indigo hair tied up into a tight ponytail just to the right of the centre of her head, with what looked like the tattered uniform of a Corsair. When she saw Delta she smiled. This was the girl he'd brought to the City.

After that horrible day.

"You came!" she gasped, running and hugging him.

Delta pulled her off, stepping back. The girl frowned "Delta, what are you doing?" she asked. "It's me, Phoebe! We need to go, Uldren will be here any minute!"

"You're not Phoebe," Delta said, aiming at her. "Uldren shot you. I watched you…" Delta stopped himself, taking a deep breath before aiming once more. "Whatever the Vex are doing, they're just using a copy of you to do it."

Phoebe frowned. "Suit yourself then," she said, slamming the switch on the side of the bulkhead door. "I'll just go to Earth myself then."

Before Delta had a chance to say anything Phoebe stormed through the door, the groan of hydraulics sounding as the bulkhead door slammed shut. Delta lowered his Nightshade, backing up more. Something was off about this. He could feel. Slowly he turned, rounding the corner.

"Delta?" Phoebe asked.

Delta froze. Sat in front of him was Phoebe. But hadn't she just…? Delta found himself unable to move as Phoebe ran up to him, hugging him tightly. "Delta, it's been hours!"

"This isn't…" Delta murmured, unsure of what to do.

"What are saying?" Phoebe asked, smiling at the Guardian. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"I-I…"

Before Delta could say anything Phoebe the Awoken girl took off back through the bulkhead, turning with an innocent smile. Delta reached out to stop her but, as he made his move, the bulkhead door slammed down between them.

"Dammit!" Delta shouted, pounding his fist on the hard metal. "Open up, Phoebe!" Then he stepped back, holding his head. "No, Sal…We're definitely still in the Vault of Glass, aren't we?"

"Y-yes!" Sal started. "But…I'm not sure how I can explain all…" she looked around the claustrophobic corridor. " _This_ …"

Delta gave a shaky sigh. His head was throbbing and he could feel a knot in his stomach. This was wrong. This was all wrong. The Titan set off back around the corridor, a feeling of dread washing over him.

"No…" he said as he spotted the same door. Below it, curled up in a ball was Phoebe. She was crying. "Phoebe!"

The Awoken girl looked up at him, looking through him. It was as though he were a ghost. "D-Delta…?" she croaked.

"It's alright, it's me, I'm here," he said, pulling her into a hug.

"T-Three months…" she said, her voice barely audible.

"What?"

"Three months I've been here…" she said, breaking down into sobs as she clung to Delta's armour. "You never came! I thought Uldren had got you!"

"Hey…" Delta said softly. "Hey, easy. I'm here now, I'm not going anywhere."

"They come for me you know…" she said, staring at Delta with a half-vacant look twisted in panic. "T-they come for at me at night, and t-they…they _hurt_ me, Delta…!"

 **(Leader- JJBA OST)**

Phoebe collapsed on all fours, her hand going to her belly. Delta could only watch in shock as Phoebe clawed angrily at herself. "G-Gotta get it out…" she sobbed quietly.

"Phoebe!" Delta said, sitting her up and grabbing hold of her wrist. "Phoebe, listen to me! Look at me!"

The terrified Awoken girl stopped, turning slowly to Delta. The Titan looked at her bloodied nails, before taking a deep breath. "I'm gonna get you out, ok?" he said.

"Delta…" Sal protested as her Guardian helped Phoebe up. "Delta, wait! T-This isn't how it happened!"

Delta ignored the protests of his ghost as she flew beside him. He'd failed to protect her last time, Traveller be damned if he failed again. As they neared the bulkhead door, Delta felt Phoebe's legs give way. She collapsed, Delta stumbling forward ahead of her.

"Phoebe…!" he gasped, realising where he was. "Phoebe!"

Before Delta could do anything, the bulkhead door slammed shut between them. "No!" Delta shouted, trying to force the door open. "Open! _Open up dammit!_ "

"D-Delta, please!" Sal said, trying to urge him away. "Calm down! Y-You're getting angry…"

" _Wouldn't you?!_ " Delta boomed, catching himself. He held himself against the door. "S-Sorry…This is…this is beyond fucked up…"

Sal shook in her shell a little, before turning. "W-We need to leave…"

"Sal, wait!" Delta said, following after her.

The pair rounded the corner, coming up against the same door. As before Phoebe was at the foot of the bulkhead, stretched out across the floor. She seemed…detached. Her body was bruised and bore the scars of sword wounds a gunshots. And she was singing to herself. Weakly, but Delta could hear her.

"S…O…S…" she croaked. "Help…me…S…O…S….Help…me…"

"Phoebe!" Delta shouted.

Suddenly the Awoken girl was alerted to his presence, her eyes almost feral. Slowly she stood up, clutching her stomach. "You…" she breathed, her voice laced with malice. "Why are you here?"

"I-I..." Delta stammered.

"Twelve months!" she screamed. "Twelve months you left me here, Delta, you did it to me _again!_ "

Delta felt himself go numb as she turned circles, slapping herself and whispering. What happened? Did this happen? What did…?

"You let Uldren have his way with me," Phoebe murmured, grabbing one of the broken pipes. "He did…. _so_ many horrible things to me…"

Delta winced as she pulled the pipe off, leaving it limp on her left hand. Slowly she turned, clawing at a visible, oozing gash on the side at the side of her stomach. "But I got it out!" she chuckled before frowning. "No thanks to you. I got out that _thing_ he left in me, no thanks to you!"

Then she stalked him to him, the sound of metal scraping against metal piercing his eardrums. "P-Phoebe, wait!" Delta stammered, back up.

"How could you let him hurt me Delta?!" Phoebe screamed, lifting the pipe. " _HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!_ "

Delta fell backwards, crawling away as fast he could go. At that moment the bulkhead door slammed down again, leaving Delta lying there, white from shock. He couldn't feel anything. Just the cold numbness that was engulfing him.

"Delta?" Sal said quietly, hovering over his face. Delta stirred, his eyes focusing on her. "We need to _leave_."

"Right…" he said hoarsely, rolling on to his stomach and getting on his knees "R-Right."

Slowly Delta got to his feet and made his way down the corridor. Again, he turned the corner, his heart dropping at the sight.

 _HATE DELTA_

The walls were scratched, carved. With what Delta didn't know. But the scrawlings were everywhere.

 _KILL DELTA_

The last vestiges of rational thought left in Phoebe's mind, broken beyond repair.

 _HATE DELTA_

Beneath the madness was a curled skeleton in a Corsair's uniform.

 _KILL DELTA_

He was too late. He was always too late

 _PRAISEHIMPRAISEHIMPRAISEHIMPRAISEHIMPRAISEHIMPRAISEHIMPRAISEHIMPRAISEHIM_

"Phoebe no…" he gasped, kneeling next to the skeleton. "No, no, no…."

Slowly he brushed the stringy leftovers of hair from Phoebe's face, unable to contain himself. Sal flew up to next to him, slowly nudging him. "Delta? Delta…"

"I couldn't…" Delta said, tears streaming down his face. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Delta, please…" Sal said softly as Delta curled up. "We gotta find the others."

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…."

"Delta?" came a new voice.

Delta instinctively reached for Main Ingredient, backing up slightly. In front of him were the concerned faces of Jaeger, Kayla and Hayley-13. Delta looked at them, reaching his free hand behind him. There was nothing but damp rock.

"K-Kayla?" he asked slowly. "Y-You're real, right?"

"Of course!" Kayla said, reaching out to help him up.

Delta pulled away. "D-Don't…! Don't!"

"Delta, there are Gorgons about," Kayla said calmly. "We can't stay here."

"Captain!" Jaeger said, readying his Arc Blade.

Kayla looked up, see the bright outline of a Gorgon forming behind Delta. He was ensnared in the Gorgon's tendrils, it's shining eye illuminating him. Jaeger moved quickly, dancing around the Gorgon as his blade cut the Vex's tendrils before burying it in one of its wings. The Gorgon shrieked as it rounded on the Bladedancer. As it reached out to Jaeger Kayla jumped, sending down a large Nova Bomb that engulfed the Gorgon, the purple flames eating away the Vex's metal body as it screamed into the Void.

Kayla crouched in front of Delta, holding out her hand. "You believe me now?" she asked.

Delta looked at his teammates. "I…" he started, immediately turning on to his stomach, throwing off his helmet.

"Oh, dude!" Jaeger protested, looking away as Delta puked.

Then the Defender turned, wiping his mouth. "I'm ok!"

Kayla frowned as she helped him up. "Are you sure?" she asked. "You looked pretty spooked when we found you. What did they show you?"

" _Something_ …" Delta said, raising his voice for a moment before calming. "Something that happened a long time ago. Far away. That was…"

 _HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!_

"Far away," Delta said finally. "Hey, Sal?"

Sal looked up from a pool of water on the ground. Delta smiled and beckoned her over. Sal did so hesitantly, but relaxed when Delta pet her. "I'm sorry for snapping," he said softly.

"Y-Y-You big…. _dummy!_ " she shouted with an angry squeak.

Delta chuckled before turning to Kayla "We're fine."

Kayla nodded. "Ghost, whose nearest?"

Ghost appeared above Kayla's shoulder, scanning his databases. "Shifter-45."

* * *

"Come on, keep up!" Delta shouted as he jogged up the metal stairwell.

"Easy for you to say…" Kayla muttered, her mind drifting back to the endless stairs of the Dust Palace.

"Why'd it have to be stairs…" Jaeger groaned, leaning against the banister. His eyes narrowed for moment. "Can you hear that?"

From behind Jaeger, Hayley spoke up. "Yeah…kinda sounds like jazz," she mused.

Kayla stopped for a moment, listening intently. Coming from further up was the mellow, gentle tune of a clarinet that seemed to penetrate through the silence of the simulation they were in. Every so often a sniper shot would fire, piercing through the rich, warm music.

Kayla looked at Delta, who shrugged and picked up speed, much to Jaeger's dismay. "You go," the Hunter said as he caught his breath. "I'll catch up!"

Delta, Hayley and Kayla arrived on the wide rooftop, weapons ready for whatever Vex was up here. Instead they were met with the bodies of three destroyed Goblins and Shifter, who judging from the incoming line rifle fire, seemed to be content taking potshots at unseen Hobgoblins. Off to the side was Sebby playing the music.

"Shifter?" Kayla asked.

The Nightstalker fired one more shot, before turning around slumped against the concrete balcony. "Afternoon," he grunted.

"Er…you ok there, buddy?" Delta asked hesitantly, giving Kayla a sideways glance. "We came to rescue you from…"

"The simulation," he finished. "I know. Sebby said he picked up a few ghosts on their way so we figured they must be you."

The other three Guardians looked at each other awkwardly as Shifter stood up, brushing himself down. "Oh," he said, reloading his sniper. "Kabr was here. We had a long chat about things, and then I killed him."

"Oh!" Kayla said, blinking in surprise.

"Turns out he was really a Goblin…" Shifter grumbled with a frown. "But, he did say that the Aegis can weaken Atheon. Course, I had to beat it out of him." Then the Exo thought for a moment. "He also mentioned something about hijacking the reality warpers…"

Delta laughed a little. "Well, alright!"

"That still doesn't give us a how…" Hayley murmured, mulling over what Shifter had said.

"We can figure that out later," Kayla said, turning to the Nightstalker. "Shall we?"

Shifter held up a finger, before turning an aiming his 20/20 at the sun in the sky, firing a single shot. The round made impact with the sky, cracking it like glass and revealing the glowing eye of a Gorgon. Shifter smirked and fired several more. The Gorgon shrieked in pain as the simulation collapsed into the inky gloom of the cavern. As the Gorgon spun and whirred uncontrollably Shifter turned.

"Lead the way," Shifter said in a neutral manner, the Gorgon exploding behind him.

* * *

"Are you sure she's down here?" Kayla asked Ghost.

"Positive," Ghost replied as he stopped outside a room door. "This is it. Be prepared for anything."

Delta and Shifter took to either side of the doorway, guns prepped. Slowly they nodded at Kayla. With Iris's Rifle in hand she quickly opened the door. Athena immediately aimed her Jäbbehakke at Kayla, glowering at her.

Kayla stayed firm as she heard the shuffle of Storm enter the room behind her. Next to Athena she could see a very anxious Artemis.

"That's low…" Kayla growled, training her scope on the fake Striker.

"Don't you dare!" Athena growled back, firing a warning shot at Kayla's foot.

"Athena, please!" Artemis said, standing between them before anything else happened, prompting all the other teammates to aim at her. "You need to go with them!"

"What?" Kayla asked, stunned as she lowered her rifle.

" _What?_ " Athena asked, equally distraught.

Delta stepped forward. "You're…not trying to trap her?" he asked Artemis.

"I already told you, Artemis, that's not happening!" Athena said, holding her hands.

"Listen to me, you stupid, _stupid…!_ " Artemis screamed, trying her best not to lose her temper. She relented, before pleading once more. "I am not Artemis, I am just a shadow!"

" _I know!_ " Athena screamed, shocking everyone into stunned silence. "I know, I know…I know you're a copy…but, I can't…every day since Ta'aurc crushed you under his boot…every time I close my eyes…!"

Athena held her face in her free hand, unable to contain herself any longer. "You were always stronger than I was…If I could just have one more day…"

Slowly Artemis made her way to Athena, gently holding the giantess. Jaeger raised his Vanity, but Kayla gently stopped him, watching as Artemis stroked Athena's hair before gently planting a kiss on her lips. "I know you love me, Athena," she said. "But…I am not Artemis. I'm a shadow. A simulation. And I'm not worth your life if it means Atheon succeeds." The Striker stood before Fireteam Storm. "They need you. And you need them."

Artemis walked up to Athena, putting a hand on her cheek. Athena met it with her own, wiping Artemis's eyes her other hand.

"I-if…" Athena said quietly, her voice breaking through tears as she squeezed Artemis's hand. "If I leave, I'll lose you forever…!"

"Not forever, Athena," Artemis said, loosening herself from Athena's grasp and placing the hand on the Sunbreaker's armoured chest. "I'll be right here with you."

Athena stared at Artemis…this copy. Even now she was protecting her. With a small, stifled cry and a deep shaky breath Athena gave a small nod. "Alright…" she said. "Alright, I'll go."

With that Athena turned, activating Hammer of Sol and plunging it into the mirror on the dresser. A shriek erupted from the room as the Gorgon blinked into existence, the hammer lodged in its eye. Athena silently dug the hammer deeper, dislodging the eye slightly as radiolarian fluid squirted everywhere while the Gorgon shook in pain.

"I'm sure you can do this in less time than it takes me to tell you," Athena said in a low voice dripping with malice, digging the eye out further. "You tell Atheon that if he thinks trying to trap us using the people we love will stop us, then he's sorely mistaken. The wolves are on the hunt, Gorgon. And we're coming for him."

"Time…is…a needle…" the Gorgon squawked, its computerised voice strained. "That needle…is Atheon…We _will…_ be the law of reality…You…will _never_ …stop us all."

"D'you really wanna tempt that, robot?" Athena grunted as she pulled the hammer out, the Gorgon exploding into shrapnel.

 **(Shell of What Was (Riven)- D2 OST)**

As the Gorgon became little more than metal on the floor fog started to fill the room. Kayla quickly looked at Artemis. "You know the way out of this place, don't you?" she asked.

Artemis nodded, fists encased in electricity as she cracked her knuckles. Kayla gave a confident smirk before turning to Shifter. "Shifter, we need tethers to stop the Vex!" she ordered. "Athena you're on add duty with Artemis!"

"Right!"

"On it!"

Shifter holstered his 20/20, giving a silent nod as he followed the two Titans out.

"Everyone else form up on me!" Kayla shouted, sticking close to Titans. "Stick close and stay out of the fog! We need to move quickly!"

Kayla led the rest of the team out of the room, the two Titans already ahead with Shifter taking point. In front of them were swarms of glowing red eyes while Kayla could make out the fog seeping through the cracks in the doorways to the other rooms.

Shifter jumped, firing off a Tether into the crowd of Vex in front of them while Athena followed up with several long-range hammer throws, the robots shattering in a ball of fire. Gun fire came from behind Kayla as Jaeger, Hayley and Delta all fired in the Vex coming from the other rooms. As the hallway became a cacophony of hectic gunfire, Artemis charged forward, barrelling through a large contingent of Minotaurs.

"This way!" she shouted, beckoning the others forward.

Kayla glanced in her direction, beheading a Goblin as she did so. In front of her was a clear pathway littered with Vex corpses. She turned to Delta and Hayley, both of whom were trying to hold off the Vex trying to pin them from behind.

"C'mon you two!" she ordered.

Delta nodded, throwing a Suppression Grenade into the crowd while Hayley followed up with Radiance and unleashing a flurry of Solar Grenades. The group came out to large stairwell that appeared to be taken from an old American motel in the early 20th Century. Vex were crawling all over the place, with several Hydras hovering over them bombarding them with mortar fire.

"Dammit!" Kayla hissed, unleashing a powerful Nova Bomb while Hayley continued with the volley of Solar Grenades.

The Nova Bomb collided with one of the Hydras. It squawked in pain, dropping onto the one below it and causing both to explode violently into pieces. Further down the stairwell Shifter fired another Tether into the crowd of Vex, Jaeger vaulting over him while firing a set of daggers that pierces the mindcores of the Vex in front of them.

"Hell yeah!" Jaeger chuckled.

"Don't let up just yet, Casanova!" Athena shouted, charging forward with her hammer and sending a Minotaur flying over the banister.

"Artemis!" Kayla shouted over the sounds of gunfire. "How much further?"

Artemis dashed ahead, ripping several Goblins limb from limb. Kayla followed closely, stopping at a large gap in the banister. The Striker pointed at a large wooden door that with think iron chains wrapped around the handles.

"That door is the way out of the simulation," she said, looking at the mass of fog surrounding them. "I don't think they'll let us go without a fight though."

Fireteam Storm backed up against each other, firing on the hordes of Vex that were encroaching on them from all sides. Kayla looked over the broken banister, glancing back at the Vex, then the gap. Below them were a large group of Goblins and Harpies.

"Guys, I got a plan!" Kayla shouted.

"Don't hold back!" Delta said, headbutting a Goblin. "We're all ears at this point!"

"Ok…" Kayla said quietly. "Here's what we're gonna do! Shifter, I want as many Tethers down there as possible! Hayley, you follow up with the grenade spam while I throw out a Nova!" Then she turned. "Artemis?"

"Yeah?"

"After Hayley and I have attacked you use Fist of Havoc and clear the area right below us. Athena, Jaeger, you two follow her and clear whatever's left down there! Hayley and I will follow you two. Boys?"

Delta turned to her while Shifter gave a silent nod before returning to the firefight. Kayla continued. "Delta, I want a Ward of Dawn around us as soon as the Tethers are out. I'm sorry but you and Shifter are going to have to be the last ones down."

"Yes Ma'am!" Delta said with a grin and small salute, before throwing out a Ward of Dawn.

Shifter grunted with a small nod, step to the gap and launching three Tethers in quick succession, the tendrils of Void Light lashing out and ensnaring the Vex below them. He backed off while Hayley took point, spinning as she unleashed an onslaught of Solar Grenades while Kayla glided above her and sent down an earth-shattering Nova Bomb.

"Artemis!" Kayla shouted.

"Right!" the Striker shouted, leaping off the edge and careening down into the lobby below, a shockwave of electricity blasting around her. She stood, stumbling a little as Jaeger and Athena followed suit.

"Artemis, are you alright?" Athena asked while Jaeger darted around, picking off the left over Vex with his Arc Blade.

"The Vex…" she started, a little winded. "They can't simulate Light."

"What do you mean?"

"I shouldn't be able to do half of what I'm doing right now," Artemis said with a shake of her head. "I'm bootstrapping a copy of my powers onto myself using…"

The blank look on Athena's face caused Artemis to chuckle. "Never mind," she finished, straightening herself. "Just focus on the Vex."

"Are you two alright?" Hayley asked as she landed, Kayla following behind her.

Before either of them could answer a loud shriek like grinding metal echoed through the stairwell as another Gorgon manifested in front of them. Jaeger backed up, throwing his Arc-charged kukri at the Harpy's eye. The Gorgon shuddered, before shrieking louder.

"Ah, crap…" Jaeger sighed as its eye grew brighter.

Athena let out a war cry before charging at the Gorgon with a powerful Hammer Strike. The Gorgon was launched backwards, slamming into the door. The large Vex spun its eye around, glaring at Athena. It picked itself up, sending out its tendrils to grab her. Before it had a chance to Fireteam Storm opened fire on its eye, stunlocking it in place before Athena charged once more with a Hammer Strike, sending the Gorgon crashing through the lobby door.

The Sunbreaker leaped onto the Gorgon, smashing it eye repeatedly with her Hammer of Sol while the other Guardians ran past. As Jaeger did so he slowed.

"I'll take that back," he said, ripping his kukri out of the Gorgon before following the others.

With the Gorgon neutralised Athena carried on down the tunnel. The wooden scaffolding and plastered drywall had given way to the same mossy rock and Vex geometry as the rest of the Vault. A few hundred metres away was a faint light.

They were nearly out!

But…

 **(Aerials- System of a Down)**

Athena turned to Artemis. She was busy throwing Vex at each other, visibly winded. Could Athena leave Artemis once again? She knew she had to. It wasn't the real Artemis, however…

"Athena?" came the worried voice of Kayla.

Athena turned to her teammates. Their faces were a mixture of panic, anger and pain. But she knew all of them were concerned for her. The crunch of dirt behind her feet caught her attention. She turned, finding Artemis illuminated by the glow of the Gorgon behind her.

"Exit's that way, _malaka_ ," she said with a wry grin.

Athena hesitated, glancing back at her teammates, then Artemis. Before she could stop herself Athena brought the Striker into one last embrace, kissing her deeply as though their lives depended on it. In a way, Athena supposed, it did.

"It hurts…" Athena said solemnly, forcing herself to pull away.

"The pain will pass, my sweet," Artemis said softly, gently pushing Athena towards her teammates. "You need to go."

Athena stumbled back, unsure of what to do. The Gorgon's eye was glowing brighter now as the telltale fog of the Vex filled with the cavern. In front of her Artemis's face bore a sorrowful look, nodding as she pushed Athena back further.

"Athena…" Kayla said, taking the Sunbreaker's hand. "Athena, come with us."

"Remember me," Artemis said with a smile, turning with her fist charged with Arc energy.

In one fell swoop the simulation of Artemis buried her fist in the Gorgon's eye. The Gorgon shrieked as it shook with pain, Artemis driving her fist further until sparks of electricity erupted from the back of the Gorgon, chaining to the Vex that were rapidly spawning in behind them. Fireteam Storm watched on as the cavern quaked with thunder, lightning dancing from the crumbling simulation of Artemis.

"Guys, move!" Delta ordered, directing everyone to the exit as the rock walls collapsed around them.

As Storm made their way to the end of the tunnel Athena took one last look at Artemis, stood firm like a raging tempest against the flurry of Vex laser fire, rocks and boulders caving down around her. Separated for good Athena took off to the exit, with Kayla right behind her.

"Get out the tunnel, get out the tunnel, get out the tunnel!" Kayla said quickly as she slid out of the opening just as the cavern fully collapsed. "Oh shit!"

Kayla's eyed widened with horror as she felt the rocky ledge disappear from under her. At the same time she felt several hands grab her wrist, leaving her dangling over a pitch black abyss. Kayla swung slightly in the cold breeze, her heart racing as the pit from her stomach fell out from under her.

"Up! _Up!_ " she heard Delta shout, followed by several strained groans from everyone else as they heaved her back from the abyss.

Kayla lay there, wide eyed as she stared up at the faint light coming from the ceiling. One by one her teammates heads came into her view, followed by Ghost appearing in her face. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yup," Kayla squeaked, sitting up slowly. "Never better."

* * *

 _ **Twenty minutes later…**_

Kayla leaned against the rock wall, staring over the vertigo-inducing chasm between Fireteam Storm and what she could only assume was Atheon. Although the team were chatting and sharing rations, she could tell that the Labyrinth had spooked them all. That didn't need to be said. Athena, in particular, seemed unusually quiet.

"'Scuse me," Kayla said, stepping over her teammates while trying to keep her balance. "Pardon…sorry…"

Athena looked up when she heard footsteps, shuffling up a little as Kayla came up to her. "Hey, runt."

"Hey…" Kayla said, sitting next to her. "You ok?"

Athena stared into the darkness in silence. Kayla shifted awkwardly, unsure of what to do or say. As she opened her mouth Athena nodded, saddened but confident. "I will be," the Sunbreaker said. "She might have only been a copy, but Artemis is right. It's time to let go."

Kayla gave a faint smile before Athena headed off to join the others.

"Hey, Casanova, you'd better not have eaten all the jerky!" Athena chuckled, lightly punching Jaeger in the back of the head.

"Kayla?" Ghost asked quietly, appearing over her shoulder. "Why _did_ that simulation of Artemis help us?"

Kayla thought for a moment. "The Vex can make simulations that are as real as people, can't they? They must have scanned Athena's memories for Artemis."

Ghost looked off into the distance, Kayla watching with amusement. "So…?" he said, turning back to her.

Kayla laughed, shaking her head. "You really don't get it, do you? They took a…" she fumbled, looking for the right words. "A memory print of Artemis let's say. But they got more than they bargained for. They didn't just get her appearance, they got her heart and soul. She loved Athena just like the real thing."

The pair sat in silence, watching the others laugh and joke about. Ghost looked at Kayla again. "I still don't get it."

Kayla turned to him with a raised eyebrow before looking back at her friends. "No," she mused. "I suppose I don't, either."

* * *

 **Next time:** Only one more thing lies between Fireteam Storm and Atheon. As the true power of the Vault is revealed Storm prepare for the toughest fight of their lives in **Chapter 1-33: Time is a Needle**


End file.
